Editorial Staff
As if 2018 hasn’t been big enough for follow-ups, continuations, second chapters and part twos, 2019 promises to be just as sequel-heavy, with new installments of “Star Wars”, “Terminator”, “Zombieland”, “47 Meters Down”, “Olympus Has Fallen”, “Toy Story”, “The Lego Movie”, “Happy Death Day”, “John Wick”, “The Secret Life of Pets”, “Spider-Man”, “It”, “Frozen”, “Godzilla”, “King Kong”, “Kingsman”, “Jumanji”, “Wrong Bet”, “X-Men”, “Men in Black”, “Tremors” and many, many more sequels on the schedule.
So, what can we expect hereon after that? More sequels, presumably. But which ones precisely?
Well, here’s ten sequels we’re pretty sure will get the coin to go before the cameras in the New Year.
Halloween II
After the staggeringly successful reboot – the first in the franchise for Blumhouse – expect a second sequel to the 2018 hit to greenlit fairly early on in the year. Since she’s keen, and since she’s a big part of the new film succeeding as much as it did, all bets are on Jamie Lee Curtis reprising Laurie Strode.
A Nightmare on Elm Street
While it’s officially being billed as a ‘reboot’, expect New Line’s next “Nightmare on Elm Street” to be more sequel than remake, especially seeing how well the aforesaid “Halloween” – which served as a direct sequel to the original film and brought back its star – fared at the box office. Does that mean Robert Englund could return as Freddy Krueger? Boy, we hope so!
Gremlins 3
Original “Gremlins” scribe Chris Columbus recently took over screenplay duties on the film – from Carl Ellsworth (“Red Eye”) – turning what was initially a do-over on the franchise into a direct sequel. Earlier in the year, the veteran scribe stated that the tone of the film will be closer to that of the 1984 original as opposed to the 1990 sequel. “I’m really proud of the script. It is as twisted and dark as anything, so we’ll see. It’s always a budgetary conversation when we’re going to shoot it. I wanted to go back to the really twisted sensibility of the first movie. I found that was a very easy place for me to fall back into and start writing again so hopefully we’ll see that movie soon.”
Crocodile Dundee 3
With the significant interest in the title after last year’s very successful ‘Dundee’ ad campaign no surprise to hear that the brand is showing signs of life again. But will fan interest be enough to entice Paul Hogan back to his trademark role, if even for a last hurrah?
Beverly Hills Cop 4
It’s been on-and-off more times than a kettle, but progress seems to be finally being made on a fourth ”Beverly Hills Cop”. In the meantime, Murphy will front another sequel for Paramount – a follow-up to his 1988 comedy “Coming to America”. Expect “Beverly Hills Cop 4”, which has Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah attached to direct, shortly thereafter (especially if a Prince Akeem reprisal is successful).
Bumblebee 2
The surprise success of the “Transformers” spin-off, coupled with director Travis Knight’s keenness to bring Bumblebee back to the big screen for another solo adventure, suggests we’ll likely see the yellow Cybertron-er back on screens sooner rather than later. Expect a new lead in place of Hailee Steinfeld though, with her character’s story seemingly done and dusted.
Creed III
With the amount of bank the “Creed” sequel has brought in, expect the studio to be hot to repeat the success with a third film in the boxing-drama franchise. Michael B.Jordan will likely be already locked to bring Adonis Creed back to the big screen. While it doesn’t sound like Sylvester Stallone will be back as Rocky Balboa, there’s a fair chance some other series favorites may be back for round 3, including Dolph Lundgren’s Ivan Drago and Mr T’s Clubber Lang.
Lethal Weapon 5
They’ve been trying to get this up and running for years, only making a breakthrough last year when Warner Bros expressed interest in a new pitch from director Richard Donner that would reunite the original magical duo – Mel Gibson, Danny Glover – for the first time since 1998. Recent comments from Donner suggest the film is a signature away from a greenlight.
The Matrix 4
With the enduring popularity of the brand, and Keanu Reeves’ recent newfound success as an action star (again), Warner Bros has tapped “X-Men 2” writer Zak Penn to take a stab at a new “Matrix” movie. While the in-demand Michael B.Jordan is rumoured to be fronting the movie, don’t expect the film to move without Keanu Reeves’ involvement.
Cobra
With Sylvester Stallone winding down on his Rocky and Rambo commitments, expect the action legend to be turning through the pages of his back catalogue looking for other popular characters he can resurrect. The most likely candidate? Sly hinted on his socials not too long ago that he’s still rather fond of Lieutenant Marion Cobretti, and wonders where the sunglasses-wearing copper is these days. If that’s not a hint, I don’t know what is… Heck, if we can get two “Escape Plan” sequels, surely, we can get one “Cobra” sequel? Watch this space.
That’s ten of the hundreds of sequels that could potentially go into production in 2019!
