David Cronenberg Planning a Sequel to 'Eastern Promises'
Filed under: Drama, Independent, Thrillers, Mystery & Suspense, RumorMonger, Scripts, Focus Features, DIY/Filmmaking, Newsstand, Remakes and Sequels
Sequels are rarely good news -- but this one is. MTV News caught up with David Cronenberg, who revealed he was moving forward with a sequel to Eastern Promises."We are going to have a meeting very soon between me, Steve Knight and Paul Webster to discuss what the script would be," Cronenberg said. "I have some very strong ideas about what I would like to see, but I would like to hear what they have to say as well. And then after that, if all goes well, Steve goes away and writes a great script. If we all like it, we make it." If they make it, Viggo Mortensen will return.
Cronenberg has never had any interest in revisiting his work -- and little of it ever has the loose ends that Eastern Promises did. "It's the first time I've ever been in a situation where I actually want to do a sequel to something. I've never had the desire to do that before. But in this case, I thought we had unfinished business with those characters. I didn't feel that we had finished with Nikolai and we had done a lot of research that was more than we could stuff into that one movie."
I'm thrilled beyond belief. The film exists perfectly fine on its own, but the mysterious Nikolai is begging to be explored further onscreen. I'll tip-toe around spoilers, but I never could understand why so many audience members believed it to be a happy, cut-and-dried ending.
If you're curious and into research, there's some fantastic essays in Vol II of the Russian Criminal Tattoo encyclopedia. Given the scarcity of books on the topic I imagine this went into their research, plus the essays are rather Cronenberg-esque in the way they examine the tattoos and their effect on the human body. It gives an insight as to what Cronenberg and Mortensen might have had in mind when they created Nikolai. Definitely worth a read ... and a sequel.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-30-2009 @ 9:55PM
Brice_J said...
awesome! this is great news... even better considering it's cronenberg & not necessarily an inevitable trilogy. i am confident in cronenberg to deliver whatever is necessary to deliver an intriguing saga no matter how few/many movies it takes!
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4-12-2009 @ 12:10AM
crony said...
I wonder if the sequal will continue with the story theme of Moses that the first movie seems to follow. Has a comparison of the two stories ever been discussed?
3-30-2009 @ 10:06PM
Mr. R said...
I knew it! I never doubted this sequel would be made. Revelations made near the end only paved the way for way more. Sooooooo looking forward to this!
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3-31-2009 @ 7:00AM
pete thomson said...
excellent Cronenberg is a great director and it will be a purposfull sequel as appossed to just for the cash!
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3-31-2009 @ 9:26AM
NP said...
This is very exciting!!!
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3-31-2009 @ 9:26AM
Kevin said...
I'm always shocked to hear that people found the ending to be a happy one as well. Without giving anything away (hopefully) it seems to me some people think he was able to change things around him to a positive, but I always thought the things around him changed him into a negative. I hope that doesn't spoil anything while at the same time conveying what I'm talking about to the people who have seen the movie. Great, great film though, and I'm definitely excited to see where Cronenberg can take the story.
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3-31-2009 @ 5:43PM
Elisabeth said...
Great job of tip-toeing, Kevin. :D
I've also run into a lot of people who believe that Nikolai's entire persona and past, right down to the last tattoo, is an elaborate disguise. I'm still not sure why I'm in the minority in thinking that he really is "The Stump."
I don't know if I talked around it as well ... we're probably safe, it looks like the majority of people popping in here have seen it. :P
4-02-2009 @ 9:24AM
Kevin said...
Thanks, I did my best :) I agree with you. He immersed himself entirely and lost sight of who he was and what he was doing.
3-31-2009 @ 10:11PM
Rob said...
If you're interested in the source material, there's a great documentary on Russian prison tattoos called "The Mark of Cain", which was an important part of their research for "Eastern Promises".
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3-31-2009 @ 10:13PM
Elisabeth said...
I've seen it! It's excellent, definitely a must see for anyone who liked the movie. The director, Alix Lambert, has also published a book with Viggo Mortensen's Perceval Press -- I believe it's on the Russian journalists who have been killed, but I might be mixed up.