This year’s found footage flick Chronicle surprised many for being one of the better stories recently seen in the genre, due in no small part to the strength of the script. The success quickly spawned rumors of an imminent Chronicle 2, with screenwriter Max Landis signed on to continue the story.
In a candid moment, Max’s father Jon has explained things aren’t going as smoothly as one might think. Those hoping to see the premise and mysteries of the original explored further seem to be out of luck – apparently, Fox wants more of the same.
The news comes from an interview conducted by ThePlaylist, covering several of the projects being developed by the veteran writer/producer. During the discussion, Landis commented on the various difficulties and artistic disagreements that can bring even the most promising films to a screeching halt.
Take, for instance, his son Max’s Chronicle 2 script being met with resistance from Fox:
“He wrote a sequel, and it’s amazing, and the studio read it and said, ‘We want ‘Chronicle’ again!’ And he said, ‘No, this is the sequel, it’s the evolution, and they said ‘No, we want that movie again!’ So it’s difficult, we’re dealing with a difficult business.”
That admission is going to disappoint plenty of fans, and we don’t just mean of Chronicle or the found footage genre. It’s not a bad thing that Fox wants to repeat the surprise of the original film, as the super-power-infused coming of age story was artfully handled by both Landis and director Josh Trank. But hearing that the proposed script is actually attempting to evolve the story beyond a simple origin, and perhaps delve into the ‘alien’ technology, was exactly what many had hoped for in a sequel.
Besides being disappointing from a story standpoint, this news seems to make the odds of Trank returning even less likely. With a job helming the Fantastic Four reboot and the task of developing Shadow of the Colossus for Sony taking his time, Trank himself had expressed concerns that a Chronicle sequel might have to struggle to avoid being a rehash. His desire to focus on more original properties might have made an evolved sequel a possibility, but not a trip down the same path.
Of course, that’s assuming Landis cooperates. The screenwriter has plenty of buzz backed up by an uncanny ability to have story pitches optioned, so this situation could play out any number of ways. We’ll keep you updated if Fox provides a response.
What do you think of Fox’s decision, assuming Jon Landis’ comments were accurate? Could there be a chance to see the superhero-evolution film we’ve been hoping for, or is Chronicle 2 bound to follow the Paranormal Activity route?
For more in-depth discussion of Chronicle, be sure to check out our ScreenRant Underground Episode 24.
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Follow me on Twitter @andrew_dyce.
Source: The Playlist
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I think it should def be a sequel to what already happened in the first movie and the kid that survived should be evolving with his powers.
I think the sequel should do what Matt said. It Should be about him evolving with his powers and discovering the origins of them. I don’t think they should have another group of people that has the same thing happen but with a different outcome. That would be a horrible idea… The story should be him discovering the origin of their powers and if they need too bring in a new character with the same powers.
Totally agree. It would ruin everything if they did the same thing all over again with new people and it wouldn’t really be a sequel then, more like a completely different movie from the original. The logical thing for a sequel would be exactly what Matt said at the end, to find out more about what happened at the cave and to find the truth. Anything else would just ruin the point of Chronicle in the first place.
i think that u should atleast let chronicle 2 show on theaters cause im pretty pretty sure that there is a lot of fans waiting for chronicle to show up.besides u could ask for votes
I totally agree with you Andrew
just make a part 2 please its my favorite movie it would mean a lot to me and all the another fans if the story kept going
I think it the sequel should take Place with Matt Figuring out the origin of the powers but the adventure is also with Matt’s girlfriend and they find another cave and she gets powers too and Matt becomes stronger and might be able to revive dead people? Just some ideas…
I like that idea
I think that the sequel should be where Andrew didn’t really die, as he has developed his powers a lot quicker than the rest. I think that Matt should try and discover the origins of his powers, whilst Andrew is looking for him. Just a thought, that would be an awesome movie.
+1
I have to say as a fan of Chronicle I would definitely hate to see a reboot of the series. No offense to Fox but they have been widely known to greatly ruin movie sequels and they need to leave Josh Trank and Max Landis to their own mechanisms. Chronicle was a huge hit and Fox needs to have more faith in these brilliant men to produce a sequel that is not only more of the same but delivers an even more intense mind-blowing experience.
I really do not want this series to die out. This movie needs a sequel. If not a sequel at least a videogame series. If Max Landis persued a videogame sequel he could script it entirely as he wanted.
Agreed
You have the exact same name as my father, unrelated.
Of course leave it to Fox not to listen to the fans. Bloody wankers, give the fans what we ant and you get more money. No one cares what Fox wants
I have an idea of how they could do the sequel. Maybe Andrew is believed to be dead but because his powers have evolved more than expected and he is considered an apex predator as he explained in the first film he somehow managed to survive or heal from his apparent death. Meanwhile Matt is continuing to search for answers as to how they received their powers and the origins of them. With no one else to stop Andrew from his continuous destruction Matt suddenly discovers something that might just change everything.