Master and Commander 2? Please Let It Be So

Russell Crowe in Master and Commander 2: The Reverse of the Medal

[UPDATE: Sadly We now know that director Peter Weir will NOT be returning for the sequel.]

Currently one of my top 10 movies, Master and Commander: The Far Side of The World is a film that was set up perfectly for a sequel to be made quickly. Despite mostly solid reviews, a pair of Oscars and a worldwide box-office gross of $212 million, the sequel I wanted to see didn’t come to be.

There have been rumblings of work towards a sequel for quite some time now and this weekend, we may have even more movement on that front.

According to Crowe, yesterday he revealed that there’s a written script for a sequel based on The Reverse of the Medal, Patrick O’Brian’s eleventh book of the Master and Commander series and that they’ve begun early discussions for the project.

“There’s still a long way to go”

The first film was incredible and it featured two stellar actors and performances in Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. Six years have passed since then and there’s no word yet on a production schedule.

Peter Weir wrote and directed the first and the only project he’s worked on since (which he also wrote and direct) is The Way Back starring Colin Farrell, Jim Sturgess, Mark Strong and Ed Harris. That movie is planned to open sometime next year.

I hope this happens but according to Crowe, it is just one of the many projects he is considering for the future at the moment.

Did you love the first Master and Commander as much as I did and would you like to see another story following the adventure of Captain Jack Aubrey ans Dr. Stephen Maturin?

Source: Associated Press

UPDATE source: The Playlist

Tags: master and commander 2

Lord Garth, Formerly of Izar

YES PLEASE DO THIS!!! In They face of all the Pop Culture homogonized crap Hollywood churns out that dummies love to slurp up with their Whoppers and Big Macs, Master and Commander was a Brilliant!! Rousing and Intelligent Masterpiece. The best High seas action adventure ever AND The Second Best Star Trek movie ever as well. I really hope they do this and just hearing they may gives me a slight glimmer of hope in Cokeheadwood. I do not however have faith that the increasingly, classless, brain rotting, viewing audiences will support something that is actually good and well thought out.

Bill, the Wildcat

I'm really excited about a possible sequel. "Master and Commander" is easily one of my all-time favorite films. There aren't enough action films with a brain, as with this movie.

Air Force One

Master and Commander is a good movie. I do wonder how a sequel will work since I am not much of a sequel person.

The Ice Man

Russell Crowe for Wolverine!

Copperknob39

Yes! I loved the first one, when I saw it originally I figured there would be a sequel.

Ben

Agreed - I've hoped for a sequel since the first movie came out. It prompted me to read the whole series of books (amazing!) and I set up a Google News alert to get any potential news of the sequel. Fingers crossed! The first film was just brilliant.

Fennaldune

absolutely! M&C is one of the best films out there. They should totally do it.

starkiller

One movie my husband would be willing to go out to see.

skippy2057

If they can get the principals back as mentioned, that would be great. It was a terrific movie.

Steve

sorry to say this, but i thought it was such a boring movie. fell asleep during it

Evie

I loved it, but then again, I love Crowe.

greenknight333

I thought the first movie was B-O-R-I-N-G!!! It took so long to get going and then not much really happened..I was not really suprised it only made 90 million domestically..and there is potential for how many of these ..20!! I did enjoy Crowe and Bettany together and many of the novels feature these characters.

stuntmanJ

greenknight333 is right about the domestic box office, it's definitely a movie that appeals more to an international audience. It may not be promoted as heavily the second time around, stateside anyway. Still I would really love to see the story continue on the big screen.

Paul Young

I thought they had already announced this film...wait...that was Battleship.

Steven

For onc I'm glad for a sequel. This is not a film that follows a historic line perfectly, it's just made for fun, so yeah a sequel will fit in the picture.
It always reminded me of a bigger budget version of Hornblower, wich are very fun films to watch in the summer period.

Eliza

Bring on the sequel!! I loved the first film- it's one of my favourite movies (the books are fantastic too), so a sequel would be most appreciated.

macca

I loved the original film ... it completely pulled me in and took me along for the seafaring ride of a lifetime. I think I've seen it a dozen times, including watching the DVD I bought.

Could a sequel capture the same magic? The incredible mood vision Peter Weir provided? I've no doubt that Crowe and Bettany could bring their characters back to life, but would Weir be on board as well?

There's no time to lose.

hatchepsout

I would dream of a sequel, but is it realistic to consider gathering the same parameters to achieve such a magnificent and outstandingly genuine masterpiece, without speaking of the main characters ' and Director's availability ?

Let's cross our fingers !

Francisca Susi

Pls GOD, let this one be a reality! M&C is a breathtakingly beautiful film. Some may consider it as too classic, slow and boring, but for me it's a masterpiece from Peter Weir. Captain Jack Aubrey is a character that Russell Crowe was born to play. I hope Peter Weir would take the director's position again. He's such a brilliant filmmaker. The 20-series books are so much fun to read.

Ro

Master & Commander easily made my Favourite Alltime Top Ten list. It is a true masterpiece. Sadly it was bowled over by the LOTR Oscar juggernaut luv-fest and never received its true recognition. The books are magnificent and Reverse of the Medal, with one scene in particular, cries out for a cinematic treatment.
It will only be worth doing if Crowe and Bettany and as many other of the strong supporting cast as possible (that means YOU, David Threlfall !!) are back aboard. Weir has said he doesn't do sequels, so it would require a director willing to do the meticulous background preparation and not rely too heavily on special effects.
These days that's a short list.

Robert Palmar

England is under threat of invasion,
and though we be on the far side of the world,
this ship is our home. This ship, is England.

The woman beside me in the theater started crying
when Russell uttered those words in his brilliant performance.

Master and Commander may be the most unappreciated classic.
It is what filmmaking is all about and filmmaking at its very best.

Key players signed a contract at the time for two more films to
ensure much of the original cast comes back in case a sequel is made.

Such contracts do not last forever as recently seen with Brandon Routh
and the contracts for this film are likely nearing their expiration
adding incentive to start a production relatively soon.
Crowes's interest adds wind to the sails.

I'm on board and join the toast for a return:
Capt. Jack Aubrey: To wives and sweethearts.
Officers: To wives and sweethearts.
Capt. Jack Aubrey: May they never meet.

Longshanks

I'm gonna have to agree with Greenknight333 and Steve,this movie was boring.I'll take it a step further and just say that it was flat out terrible.

Couldn't understand a damn thing they were saying with those thick accents,plus the pacing was absolutely dreadful,and went on longer than it should have.

I honestly never understood the appeal of this movie.I saw it with a free pass with a friend and we both hated it.I will avoid this sequel at all cost,but to those who like the first one,enjoy.

Tiny

Remember ,"One must always choose the lesser of two Weevils"

that line had me on the floor for days's

Other then that stellar flick, was watching it last week and thinking about a sequel myself

thandrale

This was one of the few historical movies that actually gave you that sense of wonder that exploring must have given people.

Throw in humor, ship combat and the comradery of shipmates and you just can't beat it.

Bill, the Wildcat

@thandrale, I think what impressed me most about the movie's portrayal was that it also added in a touch of the mundane in the crew's daily lives. That's a rather bold move, and one I felt the movie handled well.

For those that didn't enjoy this film because they found it boring, I can understand why you felt this way. I personally was not bored by the story, though. As with even many popular films and books (such as The Da Vinci Code, Twilight, Transformers, Gone With the Wind, Harry Potter, Star Wars, etc.), no single story or storytelling style can work for everyone and it's unrealistic to expect otherwise. I think "Master and Commander" connected with enough people to be considered a successful film, though. For my part, I wish there were more movies such as this one.

@Tiny, loved that line, too! This movie had a lot of great one-liners, which is kind of ironic given it was a dramatic war film.

Rhaemye

Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany were great in it, but indeed, Peter Weir always tends to make looooong stretchhhhed out movies. IÂ´m not a big fan of his work (The Truman Show could've been a lot better for example), but M&C was okay. Just okay, in a 'what am I gonna do on this rainy Sunday afternoon' kind of way.

Farradin

This film was exceptional, it took a period and premise often associated with adventure films nowadays and gave us a film that was 100% serious, yet charming at the same time. More films should be like this.

steven the git

Love that movie. Got the dvd, the special one. Not Crowe's biggest fan but he was great in this and Bettany too, totally agree.
But lots of good characters in the crew, and for a Brit lots of people you recognise.

At the end, when the boy asks the big gruff man to help him sew up the bag his friend is in, almost breaks my heart.

Lank

Can't understand the appeal... nothing happened in it!

And I worry about the mental stability of somebody who's "on the floor for days" over a pun.