It’s always challenging to get a film to stand out from the myriad of releases, and a studio that manages to get one to pierce through that noise would rarely turn down the opportunity to capitalize on that in some major way. Exploring a sequel is always one go-to method to do just that, and that naturally only intensifies when there’s hope of a sequel directly from the fans. Despite that fan fervor and hopes from the studio, one standout horror film has yet to receive a sequel, but after 5 years, there’s a promising update on whether or not it will actually happen.
Videos by ComicBook.com
That yet-to-happen sequel is none other than Universal’s The Invisible Man, which hit theaters in 2020 and became a hit despite being released right before the pandemic shut everything down. In an interview with ScreenRant, star Elizabeth Moss revealed what’s slowed down a sequel from becoming a reality and that it is still being worked on.
A Quality Sequel
When asked if she had any updates on a sequel, Moss said, “I wish I did,” before adding, “We still want one, so we’re still working on it.” Moss then expanded on that and revealed that the studios are committed to making a sequel worthy of the stellar original, and that attention to quality is mostly what’s slowing down the process.
“It was out for two weeks before COVID and made hundreds of millions of dollars. We could have easily just churned out a sequel and thrown it up on streaming and called it a day, and I think some people would’ve made money off of that,” Moss said.
“I am so grateful to Universal and Blum for not doing that and for having a standard that’s unusual in these circumstances and really wanting it to be worth doing. So it’s an unusual thing, but that doesn’t usually happen. But I feel like it’s important. We love that movie so much. The people who made it – we’re so proud of it,” Moss said.
“We really want to make sure [that] if we do a sequel, it’s worthy and it’s going to have to be as good if not better. So that’s been kind of what’s slowed us down,” Moss said. “But I don’t think that’s a bad thing. I think if we’re going to do it, it’s got to be right. But we still want to do it. We’re still working on it. We just have to get the right script together.”
An Unexpected Hit
Despite being released shortly before the pandemic, The Invisible Man was a big hit for Universal Pictures and Blumhouse, bringing in $144 million at the box office before having its theatrical run cut short. It also drew praise from critics and audiences, and currently holds a 92% from critics and an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film was also part of Universal’s connected horror universe, which was labeled as the Dark Universe. The Dark Universe officially launched with The Mummy in 2017, and The Invisible Man was the second release in that venture. That universe was announced with a big-name talent pool, including Tom Cruise, Javier Bardem, Sofia Boutella, Russell Crowe, and Johnny Depp, with projects like The Bride of Frankenstein and Dr. Henry Jekyll all in the mix.
Unfortunately, The Mummy didn’t end up being received as well as Universal had hoped, and Depp would end up not being a part of The Invisible Man as initially planned either. The Invisible Man was a hit and drew acclaim despite that, but by that time, the Dark Universe as a whole was already starting to fade, and eventually, the big Universal project was shelved. Hopefully, The Invisible Man can make a return though, and thankfully, it seems there are plenty of people behind the scenes looking to make that happen.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image courtesy of Paramount+ -
Courtesy of Comedy Central
