CHRONICLE Director Josh Trank Reveals How He Managed To Stop A Sequel From Being Developed

CHRONICLE Director Josh Trank Reveals How He Managed To Stop A Sequel From Being Developed

Chronicle wildly exceeded expectations at the box office, so a sequel seemed a given. Now, though, director Josh Trank has explained the lengths he went to in order to stop that from becoming a reality...

By JoshWilding - May 05, 2020 04:05 PM EST
Filed Under: Sci-Fi
Source: Polygon

Starring Dane DeHaan, Michael B. Jordan, and Alex Russell, Chronicle put filmmaker Josh Trank on the map, and it looked like he had the pick of any project he wanted for a time. He would ultimately choose Fantastic Four, a movie plagued by behind the scenes creative clashes which put the director in "Hollywood Jail" ahead of his comeback with Capone starring Tom Hardy. 

It looked like a Chronicle 2 was going to happen with or without Trank, and Max Landis - who has since been accused of emotional and sexual abuse by eight women - penned a screenplay, which Polygon reports would have revolved around a young girl obsessed with Matt (Russell) who builds an Iron Man-style suit so she too could have superpowers. 

However, as the follow-up started to come together, Trank did all he could to stop it becoming a reality.

After describing the story as "fine," but having "nothing to do with why I wanted to do" the first instalment, he added: "I made it difficult for them to set up meetings. I was dodgy about stuff. I did a lot of shitty things. Because I really didn’t ever want to see Chronicle 2 happen."

"That was my worst nightmare," the filmmaker continued. "First of all, I’m not doing it. Second, if somebody else does it, then you know it’s gonna be a piece of shit."

It's easy enough to see why Trank was so protective of Chronicle, and it is probably for the best that this sequel didn't happen. Now, so much time has passed, it's unlikely we'll ever see it become a reality, and everything that's happening with Landis closes the door on his screenplay being used anyway.

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MUTO123
MUTO123 - 5/5/2020, 4:07 PM
Am I the only one who thinks that interview just makes him sound like even MORE of a lunatic?
WeAreDenim
WeAreDenim - 5/5/2020, 4:11 PM
@MUTO123 - Yeah... i mean he’s basically bragging about being a maniacal dick
bcom
bcom - 5/5/2020, 4:11 PM
@MUTO123 - Well, it certainly makes him sound like he is as difficult to work with as reports have said he is.
dracula
dracula - 5/5/2020, 4:13 PM
@MUTO123 - He doesn't sound crazy he sounds like an asshole, seriously just say no, no need to waist people's time by acting like a dick
DalekCraigWasson
DalekCraigWasson - 5/5/2020, 5:33 PM
@MUTO123 - The Fantastic Four stuff hasn't been .as into an article yet because Wildling is going to squeeze the Polygon piece into as many as he can make, but I feel really bad for Jeremy Slater. His version still had problems (Doom as Galactus' herald), but he had a genuine, enthusiastic love for comics and the Fantastic Four in particular and had to work with a friend who not only doesn't like comics or comic book movies (and seems angry that he had to make one), but was actively sabotaged him, wouldn't let Slater talk to Fox, and manipulated both of them by only giving Slater certain notes and Fox certain drafts.

It's a great article (the Polygon one, not Josh's articles-for-every-paragraph) but I think it was written to be sympathetic to Trank. Yet every person who has read it has been like "What an asshole."
DalekCraigWasson
DalekCraigWasson - 5/5/2020, 5:51 PM
@MUTO123 - Best quote from the article (there are plenty contenders, like the gun quote though):

"Galactus, Annihilus, Herbie the Robot, time travel, multiple dimensions, old teams fighting young teams — everything was on the table, and any sequence or character could get tossed out at a moment’s notice. [Slater:] “It didn’t matter if they were fighting robots in Latveria or aliens in the Negative Zone or Mole Monsters in downtown Manhattan; Josh just did not give a shit.”

“I feel like I get Mole Man,” Trank said in his defense. “He’s angry and undermined by the system.”"
Highflyer
Highflyer - 5/5/2020, 4:11 PM
Erm... I've defended him in the past with the whole Fantastic 4 fiasco and felt he got done dirty but after this interview...
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/5/2020, 4:11 PM
That Polygon piece as a whole is very, very good
dracula
dracula - 5/5/2020, 4:12 PM
Could have just said no, didn't have to be a dick and waist their time
Highflyer
Highflyer - 5/5/2020, 4:13 PM
DannRamm113
DannRamm113 - 5/5/2020, 4:13 PM
Ignoring his ego, the first was REALLY good. It had some inventive elements and I can see it influencing many up and coming film makers
Tasmaniac
Tasmaniac - 5/5/2020, 9:55 PM
@DannRamm113 - Agreed. I am really disappointed we never got a sequel that followed Matt travelling the globe, quietly helping people and picking up clues as to the origin of the meteorite along the way.
tmp3
tmp3 - 5/5/2020, 4:14 PM
He also pitched a hard-R Venom film to Sony, who rejected it. Also, it turns out Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight) did a bulk of the conceptual work for Chronicle with Trank, not Landis, so I guess it makes sense that the latter would go on to write BRIGHT.
dracula
dracula - 5/5/2020, 4:15 PM
After Fan4stic, he really has not earned the right to have such a big ego. He has 1 good movie and he is talking like he is Marlon Brando, who was also a dick, but at least he had the career to back it up
Darth258
Darth258 - 5/5/2020, 4:42 PM
I thought the answer was going to be "I made Fant4stic"
MosquitoFarmer
MosquitoFarmer - 5/5/2020, 5:52 PM
Jesus, what is up with this guy? Nothing wrong with defending your passion projects, but holy hell is he being nasty.
Ha1frican
Ha1frican - 5/5/2020, 5:59 PM
That last line proves he’s a twat.
bkmeijer2
bkmeijer2 - 5/6/2020, 12:31 AM
I think there might a chance this guy really is a dick
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