Last year’s superhero project Chronicle was a clever take on the found-footage genre. The film had a modest budget of around $12 million and went on to gross $66 million domestically. So it’s not a surprise the studio is banging the drum for a sequel. Early word from indicated potential issues with the studio over the development of a second story. In an earlier Chronicle 2 update, John Landis – father of Max – claimed that the studio wanted a carbon-copy of the first film, which Landis himself couldn’t get behind. Now, it appears development has taking a turn for the better for the project.
Speaking to IGN, Landis had the following to say about the stage Chronicle 2 is at currently:
The truth is when you have a movie that was as successful as Chronicle was, it’s not as quick of a process. There are a lot more voices coming in and saying ‘This is what the sequel should be’ because there’s a bigger expectation and a bigger fear of failure. And that’s really what’s going on with Chronicle 2.
[Helmer] Josh [Trank] is directing Fantastic Four. I’m doing a hundred other movies. Chronicle 2 has become this question of ‘How do we all make a movie that we all respect?’. And that’s true to what Chronicle is. There’s no one at the studio who wants to make a bad movie. They all want to make a good movie just as much as I do. We’re not fighting.
Following up with the issues of the story problems with the studio, Landis further added:
The report came out that they didn’t like my script. They liked my script. It’s just a really dark script. The question is more of ‘How do we all compromise to get something we want?’ And that’s an incredibly slow process.
If true, then this just sounds like everyone just has their own idea of what is the better idea for the Chronicle 2 movie. Even though Landis sounds optimistic, I’m still skeptical if that many people are pushing and pulling the outcome of the story quality. All that aside, I hope everything works out for the best for this inevitable sequel.
Source: IGN, The Playlist