Real Steel Star Addresses Potential Sequel Plans
Quite a few movies have gotten a second life thanks to streaming services like Netflix. This is especially true of action films from the last decade or two that feature a beloved star or two. They get missed in theaters, but after being added to Netflix, fans flock to it and bring it back to the forefront of the conversation. Such was the case for Real Steel, the Hugh Jackman-starring film about robot boxing. While the film isn't on Netflix anymore, it made some serious waves during the time it was on the service this year, which has ultimately led to some conversations about a potential sequel.
Shawn Levy, Real Steel's director that recently helmed Ryan Reynolds' Free Guy, has been considering potential sequel plans, now that the film seems to have more fans than ever before. Evangeline Lilly, who co-starred alongside Jackman in the film, recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about a potential sequel from Levy.
"Actually, we just spoke recently," Lilly said of Levy. "Today, October 7th, is the ten year anniversary of Real Steel. So Entertainment Weekly is actually running a tribute to it today, and they interviewed Shawn, Hugh [Jackman], Anthony Mackie and Dakota Goyo. So in between interviews today, I was trying to watch the half-hour special that they did. Real Steel is one of my favorite films I've ever been a part of. I thought there ought to have been a sequel because the film was so good and it was so beloved. But I know that the reason there wasn't was because the film was marketed as this testosterone-driven, rah-rah, beat-him-up kind of macho movie for boys between the ages of 18 and 35. But in actuality, it was a beautiful, heartfelt father-son redemption story for the family to watch together. And families didn't find the film until after it had gone to DVD at that point in time, and then streaming. So it wasn't marketed to them, but had it been marketed to families, it would have most certainly had a sequel. When I go and do a comic con, so many people in my lineup will say that Real Steel is their favorite. It's become a real treasure. People love the film and I'm so happy because it is, like I said, one of my favorite films that I've ever done. Because it's been so long, I don't know now if I think a sequel would be a beautiful thing or if it would kind of tarnish the purity of what we made back then. It's been ten years, but I really trust Shawn. I think he's an amazing director, and he's one of my favorite directors I've ever worked with. So if Shawn is doing something, I'm sure it's going to be incredible."
As Lilly explained, Real Steel is now 10 years old, so bringing a sequel to theaters (or to a streaming service) would be tricky. That said, if there's a good idea for another movie, there doesn't seem to be much that can hold it back.
Would you like to see a Real Steel sequel? Let us know in the comments!