HOLLYWEIRD TO COOK UP 30 MORE SEQUELS

Instead of hiring some talented writers to come up with an original idea (for once), the lovely land of make-believe has decided to cook up 30 more sequels for us gullible folk to shell out our hard-earned cash to see. Here are the following films currently in the works:

The Brazilian Job: the follow up to Paramount’s US remake of The Italian Job is still on the cards, and it’s got a 2009 release date marked. Jason Statham, Mos Def, Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron are attached, as is director F Gary Gray.

I, Robot 2: All we know on this one is that it’s in the scripting stages still, with a potential 2010 release date planned in. No news on Mr Smith's involvement.

I Am Legend 2: Warner’s huge Christmas 2007 hit could also have a follow up, although it’d be interesting to see if Will Smith returned to it. Uh...didn't he die at the end of the first one? A 2010 release date is also being mooted for this one.

Beverly Hills Cop 4: If Die Hard can still do it at the box office, why can’t Axel Foley? Er, because the third BHC movie was crap, and a flop. Still, it’s not stopped development work going ahead on number four. No further news than that, though.

National Treasure 3: Not a huge surprise, but as the Nic Cage Indiana Jones knock off franchise has proved to be quite a juggernaut, you’ll only have to wait until 2011 for the third film in the series.

Cars 2: We spotted this on AintItCool – is Pixar really looking to make a sequel to its weakest film? Apparently so…



Toy Story 3: This one, after lots of umming and ahhing, appears to be a goer. It won’t, as was speculated, be a straight-to-DVD affair, and Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are both expected back on voicing duties. It’ll be out in 2010.

Jeepers Creepers 3: MGM is running the rule over a potential third instalment in the horror franchise, with director Victor Salva still attached. Hmmm.

Shrek 5: The fourth film was a no-brainer after the tepid third outing made so much cash. But a fifth instalment has also been confirmed. No wonder Shrek is the same colour as an American dollar…

Night at the Museum 2: Ben Stiller is returning for his most commercially successful role outside of the Meet the Parents franchise. We can wait. No news on the proposed Meet The Little Focker, though.



Crank 2: High Voltage: This is more like it. Crank is a guilty pleasure right up there with Snakes on a Plane, and it’s coming back for more. Shooting starts next month, for a 2009 release, and Jason Statham returns as Chev Chelios. As he should.

Transporter 3: Statham again. He’s making this too, and it’s in pre-production. Presumably, he’ll go from Crank 2 straight onto this.

Super Troopers 2: A sequel nobody asked for! Hurray! Expect it in 2010, as it’s in the early writing stages still, we believe.

Silent Hill 2: Sony is looking at a follow up to the crap-but-popular video game adaptation. 2010 is the current slated release date.



The Descent 2: We understand that Neil Marshall won’t be directed this one, which has the, er, working title of The De2cent. He’s attached as Executive Producer, with Jon Harris stepping behind the camera (he edited the first film, as well as the more recent Stardust).

The Grudge 3: Yup, it’s in pre-production now, for release next year. That’ll likely be the scariest thing about it.

Ice Age 3: 1st July 2009. That’s the date you’ll need to avoid if you want to miss the next Ice Age movie. Hopefully it’ll be better than the second one…

Ghost Rider 2: A surprise hit last year, Marvel is developing a follow-up to the Nic Cage comic book flick, and tentatively has 2009 marked for release. No director is thus far attached, but let's hope the last director who helped the craptastic Daredevil won't be.

The Untouchables: Capone Rising: A prequel to Brian De Palma’s cracking prohibition thriller of, er, twenty years ago. De Palma is back behind the camera, and the project is in the pre-production stages now.

The Thomas Crown Affair 2: Weird, this. It’s taken them ages to do a sequel, and then they draft in Paul Verhoeven to direct a follow-up to someone else’s film. Pierce Brosnan returns, and filming starts shortly.

The People Under The Stairs 2: No sign of any Wes Craven involvement, though, and release may even be this year. Hmmm. We'd wager DVD will be its home.

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor: Er, that’s what they’ve called The Mummy 3, which is out on 1st August. Brendan Fraser and Jet Li star.



Punisher: War Zone: Ray Stevenson becomes the third person to play The Punisher on screen. You’ll be able to find out how he did on 12th September this year.

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder: Casper Van Diem is back, but it’s still going straight to DVD, as the piss-awful second film did. It’s due out later this year.

Pink Panther 2: Oh dear. Why are they making a sequel to that shitty mess? It’s out on 13th February 2009.

Ace Ventura 3: No Jim Carrey though, and no chance of it seeing the inside of a cinema. Head to Blockbuster later in the year if you want to catch it.

War of the Worlds 2: The Next Wave: Another straight to DVD sequel, but this one’s of note because it’s directed by Soul Man/Hitcher star C Thomas Howell. Blimey.

Jurassic Park 4: It’s taken them ages to sort this out, but the latest is that Laura Dern is still attached, and that it’ll be released in 2009. Don’t hold your breath though, as shooting would need to start really very soon...

Scary Movie 5/Saw 5: You could have guessed at these if you didn’t know about them already. Both should see the light before the end of the year. Sadly.

Aliens vs Predator 3
Even though the second film was, really, spectacularly awful, it made so much cash across the planet that a third is being put into the production grinder. Worryingly, the Brothers Strause may be attached. That’s the scariest thing about it.



Rambo 5
We shit you not. Lionsgate has taken an option on a further adventure for the most violent OAP on the entire planet. The earliest Den Of Geek can see it getting to the screen is late 2009/early 2010. Who would bet against, in AvP style, Rocky vs Rambo now?

Jack Ryan 5
Lots of people at Geek like the Jack Ryan films, and the news that a fifth one is in the works is no surprise. Expect a new Jack Ryan, though, with Ben Affleck not likely to get a call back in spite of the success of The Sum Of All Fears. Ryan Gosling is favourite, and Sam Raimi has signed to direct.

Alvin & The Chipmunks 2
If there’s not a sequel to this, we’re going to change the name of this site to Den Of Yoghurt.

Stigmata 2
Our memory of the first film is neither clear nor particularly kind, but MGM is thinking about a follow-up anyway. We imagine that it’s DVD fodder, and it’s due in 2009. Expect nobody that you’ve heard of to be in it.

Cliffhanger 2: The Dam
With Rocky and Rambo revivals bringing home the bucks, the once-mooted Cliffhanger sequel has popped back onto the radar. No news if Renny Harlin would be interested in going back to the series, but here at Den Of Geek we reckon it’s a fair bet that Sly’s up for it. Will he ever consider a Demolition Man sequel, though?

It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad Mad World: The Sequel
Stanley Kramer apparently approved the idea to this before he died, although no cast or crew have been announced. Don’t expect it soon.

The Ring 3
Okay, that sound? It’s the dead horse, coming back to life, begging not to be flogged anymore. Hideo Nakata is attached to direct the third American film in the series, albeit with nobody you’ve heard of in the cast this time. Expect it next year.

Open Season 2
A straight to video sequel for Sony’s piss-poor attempt to crash the computer animation genre. Let’s hope for a far better stab at it this time.

Final Destination 4
David R Ellis, he who directed the second film in the series (our guiltiest pleasure of the three) and Snakes On A Plane (our guiltiest pleasure ever, potentially) has returned to FD4, which Sarah wrote about in an excited state here.

Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants 2
A film we can think of no possible reason in the world to watch. Its hopes of securing a UK male audience were scuppered when everyone worked out that pants means a different thing in America than it does in Blighty. Anyroad, it’s out in August, if anyone wants to see it. We suspect we’re not in the “target demographic”, though. Pity.

Batman: Gotham Knight
Not a live action picture, but a DVD feature length anime adventure for the Dark Knight, with Kevin Conroy voiced the Bat. It’s enough to make us dig out Batman: Mask Of The Phantasm again. What a film that is… The DVD of Gotham Knight will be out soon.

Superman: Man of Steel
It is happening, even though HMV has now cut the price of the 2-disc Superman Returns DVD to £3 at the time of writing. Bryan Singer is still expected to return behind the camera, and Brandon Routh is odds on to return as well.

Fast and the Furious 4
More fast cars coming up, as Justin Lin – who helmed the third instalment in the franchise, Tokyo Drift – is back behind the camera. Vin Diesel and Paul Walker are back too, and the film heads to cinemas on 5 June 2009. Blimey.

Underworld 3
Truthfully, were either of the two previous Underworld films actually any good? They have their fans, but enough to warrant a trilogy? Hmmm. Anyway, Kate Beckinsale has jumped ship for part three – the Rise Of The Lycans – and hubby Len Wiseman isn’t directing either. Instead, the current filming film – with Rhona Mitra and Bill Nighy – is being directed by Patrick Tatopoulos, who was production and creature designer on the franchise before.

The Scorpion King: Rise of the Akkadian
We could have sworn this was a videogame, but apparently there’s a film on the way too – unsurprisingly, given that The Mummy 3 is on the way as well. This one’s likely to go straight to DVD, though, not least because Russell Mulcahy (last seen working on Resident Evil: Extinction) is behind the camera. Nobody you’ve ever heard of is in the cast, and the film has wrapped shooting

Point Break 2
The popular Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves surfing action movie is set for a sequel, albeit with a new cast and no sign of original director Kathryn Bigelow. Set 20 years after the original, this time it’s W Peter Illiff who is writing and directing (he had a writing credit on the original). Expect it next year.

Inside Man 2
Spike Lee’s crime thriller original was a good, strongly made but hardly memorable night out at the movies. It did well at the box office, though, and so a script is being written for a potential sequel in 2010.

Baby Geniuses 3
We’re not quite sure why. Apparently, the idea this time is that kids swap roles with their parents. If that means they go and get a job, have to face the realities of the world and stop watching crap on the telly, than all the better. No idea when it’s out, and truthfully, nobody cares.

Little Fockers
It’s due in 2009. It’d better be funnier than the last one.

Step Up 3-D
The second film is doing well in the States. That means a button has been pressed to order a third. That is all.

Street Fighter: The Legend Of Chun-Li
No Kylie or Jean-Claude this time round, with the big names in the cast being American Pie’s Chris Klein and The Green Mile’s Michael Clarke Duncan. It’s due out next year, and behind the camera is Doom director Andrzej Bartkowiak.

Spawn 2
A sequel to one of the worst comic-book tie-in movies of all time is in the planning stages. Current status of the project is pre-script, so don’t hold your breath. Todd McFarlane is set to write the screenplay, though.

Boogeyman 3
Must have missed the fact that they did Boogeyman 2 to be honest. More straight to video goodness (or, more likely badness), is already in post-production.

Vacancy 2
A new cast. A new director (Eric Bross, who did a fine little indie film called Ten Benny). A real smell of straight to DVD about it.

Jumper 2
Quite an international hit Jumper proved to be. Very early exploratory work has started on a follow-up, and currently Doug Liman’s name is linked with the project. Don’t expect to hear much else on it for a while, though.

Into The Blue 2
Didn’t get enough of Paul Walker and Jessica Alba last time round? Well the chances of attracting them back aren’t great, but that hasn’t stopped MGM from commissioning a sequel to its glossy rip-off of The Deep.

Robocop
Will it be a sequel, a reboot or a ‘reimagining’? All we know is that it’s on MGM’s production slate right now, even if further details aren’t yet forthcoming.