‘Jungle Cruise’, ‘The Old Guard’ greenlit for sequels
Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt to return for Disney sequel, as will Charlize for Netflix
It’s raining sequels in Hollywood. Days after Netflix greenlit a sequel to the Charlize Theron action-adventure, ‘The Old Guard’, Disney has now announced that the ‘Jungle Cruise’ will also get a sequel.
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson and Emily Blunt will reprise their roles as the riverboat captain Frank Wolff and the explorer Dr Lily Houghton for the Disney film, which is currently screening in UAE cinemas.
The film, which is based on a theme park ride, has already grossed $100 million in the US, with movie now in its fifth week in the UAE, with total admissions crossing 214,900 this past weekend.
According to Variety, director Jaume Collet-Serra is also expected to return, as are executive producer Scott Sheldon and producers John Davis, John Fox, Beau Flynn, Johnson, Dany Garcia and Hiram Garcia.
Meanwhile, the pandemic-released Netflix film ‘The Old Guard’ is also getting a sequel with Theron and Kiki Layne returning to reprise their roles in the action drama. Others to reprise their roles in the film include Matthias Schoenaerts, Marwan Kenzari, Luca Marinelli, Veronica Ngo and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Victoria Mahoney will helm the project, taking over from Gina Prince-Bythewood. In a statement, Mahoney spoke about her vision for the project.
“Genuinely blown backwards by the collective levels of talent, skill and savvy that went into carving ‘The Old Guard’. I must’ve watched it over a hundred times, and as such, cannot communicate the true measure of my excitement — being invited on ‘The Old Guard’ journey …. Ever eager to continue pushing the genre for action-loving audiences. Warmly tipping my hat to the world Gina, Charlize, Rucka, Fernández, Skydance, Netflix, Marc Evans Productions, Denver & Delilah Films and the entire Team daringly put forward,” she said.
“We are beyond thrilled that Vic is joining ‘The Old Guard’ team. Her passion for these characters and her ambitious vision for the movie overwhelmed us all. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with her,” Theron added.
The first film followed a group of mercenaries, all centuries-old immortals with the ability to heal themselves. ‘The Old Guard’ is one of Netflix’s most popular films to date and was seen by 78 million households in its first four weeks.