Last January, we learned that Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy will return to the world of Real Steel for a new Disney+ series. The 2011 movie starred Hugh Jackman, Evangeline Lilly, and Anthony Mackie, and followed a father and son who reconcile after years apart as they train a junkyard robot to become a boxing champion.
Disney Branded Television, 20th Television, and Levy's 21 Laps are producing the show, but we've since heard very little about where things stand with the project.
During a recent interview with Inverse (via SFFGazette.com), Mackie looked back on shooting the project and admits that he calls Levy at least once or twice a year to push for a long-overdue sequel. The Captain America: Brave New World star also revealed what the original plan was for the franchise.
"It was supposed to be a trilogy," Mackie confirms. "It was supposed to be three or four movies together."
Levy and the movie's cast have all been busy with other projects since Real Steel was released, though it's a shame a follow-up never became a reality.
Assuming it's still happening, the Real Steel TV series is probably still at least a couple of years away, but it may well set the stage for the sequel fans, and Mackie, have been waiting for. The movie grossed just shy of $300 million when it was released, and seeing as its budget was only $110 million, we're honestly a little surprised it hasn't already happened.
Another big question is whether any original cast members will return for this small screen effort, though we're hearing this may be more spin-off than a full-blown sequel.
Last summer, Levy said he'd "rather make no show than the wrong show," and added, "I finally heard a take that takes the lore of the movie and does some really exciting things with it. I'm finally getting really excited about where we're headed."
Hopefully, we'll have more to share with you on those spin-off plans soon.