by Justin Cook
Sequels to both last year’s surprise summer hit Lucy and 2011’s action film Colombiana are in development with Luc Besson at EuropaCorp.
The news was announced at CineEurope 2015, a convention held in Barcelona, Spain, where EuropaCorp announced a number of upcoming scheduled and in-development projects.
Lucy told the story of a woman, played by Scarlett Johansson, who acquires extraordinary abilities after she is exposed to a powerful experimental drug. Although the film was a massive success, raking in over $450 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, its concept doesn’t really lend itself to a sequel, especially not with Johansson at the center again. Besson, director of Lucy, admitted that himself in a 2014 inteview with The Hollywood Reporter. Specifically, he said, “I don’t see how we can do [a sequel]. It’s not made for that. If I find something good enough, maybe I will, but for now I don’t even think about it.”
As of now, there is no word on whether or not Johansson will reprise her role as the title character for the sequel.
On the other hand, it was a bit of a surprise to hear that a sequel was in the works for Colombiana, considering how the film made a poor showing at the box office when it was released years ago. It brought in only $61 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, meaning that when marketing and other costs are factored in, the studio most likely lost money on the film. Colombiana was co-written by Luc Besson and starred Zoe Saldana.
Although Saldana has not been confirmed for the sequel yet, the actress is undoubtedly a bigger star now than she was when the first film was released. EuropaCorp may be hoping that her increased star power will help sell tickets for the sequel.
Source: Allocine (via The Playlist)
Quote Source: The Hollywood Reporter
