Prometheus Sequel Will Happen! Plus Other Sequel News

“Prometheus” is easily one of the most divisive films of the year so far. Electroshadow enjoyed it in spite of its numerous problems (read our review here). Negative word-of-mouth affected its Box Office performance somewhat, not to mention an R-rating that eliminated the younger market segment. So it only managed to make about US$303 million globally on a budget of around $170m (including marketing). That’s not exactly a great figure, but it’s enough for Twentieth Century Fox to justify a sequel. Hooray, I say. For all its flaws I feel the film deserves a chance at completing its story arc, as ambitious and convoluted as it is. It’s not often that we get hard science-fiction that addresses Big Ideas in the form of a big-budget Summer Blockbuster.

Emma Watts, Fox’s president of production had this to say: “Ridley is incredibly excited about the movie, but we have to get it right. We can’t rush it.” She went on to say that while Scott is a lock, writer Damon Lindelof is unlikely to return, due to “Scheduling conflicts”. News that will no doubt make his detractors very happy. Lindelof has been blamed for much of the flaws of “Prometheus”. Watts gave no specific start date, but did state that it would see either a 2014 or 2015 release.

In other news, Universal Picture’s “Snow White And The Huntsman” is also due to receive a sequel. With a worldwide gross of US$382 million on a $170 million-plus budget, it’s also not a runaway hit. But the studio believes in the franchise potential of the fantasy epic. Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth are confirmed returnees, though their cast-mate Charlize Theron and director Rupert Sanders are question marks. Especially Sanders, who has been suffering the wrath of the gossip media and “Twilight” fans after news of his secret affair with Stewart was revealed last month. Stewart is/was currently in a relationship with her “Twilight” co-star James Pattinson while Sanders is/was married.

Universal’s other property “Ted” has also been given the green light for a follow-up. The rowdy R-rated comedy about a man (Mark Wahlberg) and his talking teddy bear did fantastic business, earning $233 million worldwide on just a $60 million budget. Personally, I think the premise is only enough to sustain one movie, so a sequel may be end up wearing out its welcome pretty fast.

Over at Sony Pictures, a couple of no-brainer announcements were made. Sequels to “The Amazing Spider-Man” ($621 million global BO) and “Men In Black 3″ ($620m) have been greenlit. Finally, at Warner Bros, the biggest surprise sequel annoucement was made: Steven Soderbergh’s “Magic Mike” will see more swinging, naked male flesh. The $6.5m pic has made $108m in the US alone, making it one of the most profitable movies of the year! Can’t say I wanna see another one though. Electroshadow watched it last month and felt it was, true to Soderbergh’s current form, technically fascinating but emotionally empty. You can quote us on that.