Quentin Tarantino almost made a surreal cameo appearance in maligned sequel Battle Royale 2: Requiem. Tarantino has made no secret of his admiration for the original Battle Royale from director Kinji Fukasaku. The film saw a group of Japanese high school students being forced to play a life-or-death game on a remote island, with only one survivor allowed. The film was a disturbing, blood-soaked satire, and has become a cult favorite that has inspired everything from The Hunger Games movies to PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. In a 2009 chat, Tarantino labeled Battle Royale his favorite movie that had emerged since he began his filmmaking career in the '90s.
Taking that praise a step further, he claims Battle Royale is the only movie he wished he had directed personally. Given how popular the original is, it might surprise some to learn a direct sequel even exists. Battle Royale 2 was released in 2003 and saw another luckless group of students forced by the government to fight a terrorist group. All of the dark wit and intelligence of Battle Royale was lost in Requiem, which suffers from a total lack of subtly and tediously long battle scenes. Tarantino himself was also offered an interesting role in the sequel.
Tarantino Almost Played The President Of The United States In Battle Royale 2
Tarantino once revealed to Empire magazine that while he was working on the Kill Bill movie duology, the filmmakers behind Battle Royale 2 offered him a cameo as the President of the United States. The filmmaker had to pass on their offer, however, as he was too busy finishing Kill Bill to film the scene. Exactly where the President would have appeared in the story is unclear, though it likely would have come during the finale when the U.S. forces Japan to attack the terrorist stronghold. Ultimately, the character didn't appear in the final movie.
Tarantino Was Right To Pass On Battle Royale 2
Tarantino was likely disappointed he had to pass on Battle Royale 2, given his admiration for the first film. He lucked out, considering how disappointing the end product was. Requiem was greeted with largely negative reviews and has been mostly forgotten. Tarantino - who REALLY likes filming feet - playing the President might have added a little spice to the follow-up and helped draw more attention to it, but it would have done little to improve its overall quality. While he missed out on Battle Royale 2, a few years later QT would appear in another Japanese movie, Sukiyaki Western Django by the great Takashi Miike.
Of course, he would then go on to direct a Django movie of his own with 2012's Django Unchained. Since Battle Royale 2 proved such a letdown, there's been no talk of a third entry. The influence of the original lives on in the likes of Netflix breakout hit Squid Game, but while there was once talk of an American remake of Battle Royale as a TV show for The CW in the early 2010s, that project didn't happen. Over 20 years on from the original, it feels like the property is best left alone now.