Doug Liman Teases EDGE OF TOMORROW 2; Says It Will "Revolutionize How People Make Sequels"
Doug Liman has been making the rounds lately, and yesterday he spoke about his highly anticipated Edge of Tomorrow sequel, describing it as "a sequel that's a prequel." Come check it out!
Edge of Tomorrow was easily one of the best and most welcome surprises of 2014 and was a film that not only met its expectations, but exceeded them tenfold. Thanks to a phenomenal critical reception and solid box office return, it quickly became another tick in the win column for its superstar Tom Cruise and proved to be quite the action showcase for his kickass, scene-stealing co-star Emily Blunt. The film also served as a return to form for director Doug Liman, who had been out of the director's chair for quite some time before he was signed by Warner Bros. Pictures to helm the highly ambitious adaptation of the manga All You Need Is Kill.
With the film's roaring success, which was helped tremendously by a strong performance on home video, as well as its optimistic and relatively open ending that more or less left the door open for a future story to be told, more and more fans over the past two years began clamoring for a sequel. However, it all really just depended on Cruise & Blunt and whether the duo would even be game for a second round in the exo-suits and well, as it turns out, the pair were more than enthusiastic about the idea, with Cruise even dropping the bombshell news about sequel talks on the press tour for his 2015 blockbuster Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.
News broke in April of this year that the long-rumored sequel was finally in development with Cruise, Blunt, and Liman all expected to return in their respective roles. Additionally, Chris McQuarrie, who penned the first film, revealed that he would also be involved in some capacity, but with his current commitments working on Mission: Impossible 6, scripting duties were awarded to Race scribes Jon Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse.
Liman is not a director that typically dabbles in sequels, even previously opting to move on from directing the Bourne sequels, which were all hugh successes, but this time around, Liman is hooked and seems very excited to be able to revisit his best film yet. In a recent interview with Collider, he briefly spoke on the matter and revealed what exactly it was that brought him back for the second go-round and it's something that should get you even more excited. Check out his comments below:
“That is the only sequel that I’m considering doing, and it’s because first of all the story is so amazing—much better than the original film, and I loved and loved the original film—and second of all, it’s a sequel that’s a prequel.”
Now, that's interesting to say the least. A sequel that's a prequel, could the film tell the events from that same day in a considerably different manner with a different attack coming into play or could Cruise's character Major Bill Cage have developed stronger time-looping abilities leading to an all-new threat rising or does it mean something else entirely? Only time will tell.
Regardless of what he meant, Liman seemed incredibly excited at getting an oppourtinity to work on a sequel for the first time as it will provide him with an avenue to finally express his true feelings on the entire concept of sequels. He speaks on creating a very unique kind of experience with Edge of Tomorrow 2 that he hopes can revolutionize how studios approach sequels in the future. Check him out again below:
“I’ve had some radical ideas about how to make a sequel that would interest me, in the same way that I had ideas of how you make an independent film and then Swingers came along and it was like ‘Aha, that’s the perfect movie for me to test these ideas out on.’ I had these intellectual ideas on how you should make a sequel that are unlike how anybody else makes a sequel, and this script and this idea fit perfectly into that idea. So it’s gonna revolutionize how people make sequels. And again that’s why I try to do things like Invisible that are just, the revolution’s sort of built into the idea. It’s more heresy in the film world for me to pitch things that are sort of unheard of.”
Judging by his comments overall, the film's first draft has likely been completed as he already has a firm grasp on what the film is ultimately going to be. However, it's still a little up in the air as to when this project will actually head into production with both leads and Liman currently booked solid throughout next year. Cruise & McQuarrie are expected to start Mission: Impossible 6 early next year, Blunt has signed on to headline the Mary Poppins sequel, and Liman is in the midst of developing several projects, including Justice League Dark.
So, what do you guys think? Sound off with your thoughts below!