Ahead of the release of this year’s The Invisible Man, fans were cautiously optimistic about the endeavor, as the talent amassed for the endeavor was impressive but the 2017 reboot of The Mummy was largely a disappointment, with all our fears squashed when the new film earned impressive reactions from fans and critics alike. Now that the film is celebrating its home video release, viewers can’t help but wonder if this horrifying adventure was just a hint of things to come in a sprawling franchise, due to writer/director Leigh Whannell having launched so many other franchises, with producer Jason Blum just excited by the film’s potential as fans.
“Well, I’ll say this, I never — Jason knows this about me — I never think about sequels when I’m making a film because it’s so hard to make one good movie, so I feel like it’s an impossible task to start thinking about what it’s going to spin off into,” Whannell shared with ComicBook.com. “And I have made movies that have spawned many sequels, writing the first Saw movie, and Insidious, so probably, to the viewer, it may seem like I’m thinking in terms of franchises, but I never am. Ever, ever, ever. And this is that. So, I don’t know, but I know that Jason wants to know where it’s going.”
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Blum added, “Yes, I do, I ask Leigh every day, where this is going. Every day, and I never get a straight answer.”
Between series like Paranormal Activity, The Purge, and Halloween, Blumhouse Productions has successfully developed a number of franchises, with Blum noting that the strength of a franchise all rests on debuting a compelling film that stands on its own and doesn’t require a follow-up.
“My philosophy about sequels is the first one, I always tell the filmmakers to do exactly what the opposite of what you’re suggesting,” Blum detailed. “Just make a great movie and don’t worry about who dies, what happens, mythology. It’s hard enough to make a great movie without having to make a great movie and think of how it continues. If we’re lucky enough to have a hit and the original filmmaker wants to extend the story, then I’m not naive, because if you’re making two, you’re likely making three. If you’re making one, you’re not necessarily making two. So on the second movie, I think when we make a second, or a third, I ask the filmmaker to think a little bit more of the universe of the movie. But on the first one, I really encourage them not to do that.”
He continued, “And Leigh, I mean I don’t want to answer for you, but I think one of Leigh’s great strengths as an artist, is that … he’s really focused on … what’s a great story, what’s a strong dramatic story. The scares fit organically into that, but I think he’s a storyteller first and foremost, and I encourage that, because without a great story, it doesn’t matter what other planning or thinking, or how the audience is going to feel, the movie won’t work.”
The Invisible Man is out now on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital HD.
Would you like to see the mythology of the film continue? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
