It was in early 2021 when we first heard that Deadpool 3 director Shawn Levy was returning 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.
The movie grossed just shy of $300 million when it was released and, seeing as its budget was only $110 million, the reason for a sequel never becoming a reality remains hard to figure out. However, its status as a beloved classic and increased interest after a Netflix debut appears to have convinced Disney this is a well worth returning to.
Levy, however, is an incredibly busy filmmaker and is also attached to direct a Star Wars movie (not to mention his recent hints about him possibly helming Avengers: Secret Wars).
Collider (via SFFGazette.com) recently got an update on both Star Wars and Real Steel and things were looking good for both projects...prior to the Hollywood strikes, of course.
"We were just starting the process of developing my [Star Wars] movie, and the writer strike happened," he explains. "So we are in that holding pattern that so much of our industry is in."
"Same [for Real Steel], I could literally say, 'See above.' Same. Still, as I told you, I want it as badly as the lovers of Real Steel want it, so alive, but paused."
Since helming Real Steel, Levy has gone on to work on the likes of Stranger Things and Free Guy. Fans have never stopped sharing their hopes for a follow-up, and the filmmaker later revealed that it was that newfound interest on Netflix which prompted him to talk with Jackman about a sequel of some sort. That may be this TV series.
Either way, fans are excited and while it's still early days for the project, we're optimistic this could be the start of exciting things to come for the Real Steel franchise. There's a tonne of potential with the property, and regardless of whether it's a continuation or a new story set in that world, Disney will make a lot of fans very happy by revisiting this relatively obscure Fox film.
As for Star Wars, three movies were announced at Star Wars Celebration and Levy's wasn't among them. With that in mind, only time will tell whether this project becomes a reality at Lucasfilm or goes the way of so many other aborted efforts (there's also no word on which era of this Galaxy Far, Far Away the filmmaker intends to explore).