With the release date still six months away, DreamWorks thinks they have a big winner in “Real Steel” and they’re putting the wheels in motion to get a script for a sequel ready to go.
Deadline reports that the studio is sticking with John Gatins, who penned the upcoming film, hiring him to get cracking on a followup. Why? Well, apparently early footage shown at CinemaCon and around the studio lot has garnered lots of strong buzz, promoting this early start on what the studio hopes will be a franchise. But there is probably also another reason — Hugh Jackman has a big, gaping hole in his schedule right now. If Gatins can have a script ready, and if the film opens to gangbuster box office early in the fall, you can bet DreamWorks is hoping they can snag Jackman and director Shawn Levy to crank out a new film before the actor grows the mutton chops and gets fanged for the delayed “The Wolverine.”
To refresh your memory, “Real Steel” is a boxing drama set in the near-future where 2,000-pound robots that look like humans do battle. But more specifically, the film is about a father-son (Dakota Goyo playing the kid) team training an unusual robot to win a boxing championship after Jackman’s fall from glory as an actual human boxer. The film also stars Anthony Mackie, Evangeline Lilly, Kevin Durand, Hope Davis, James Rebhorn and Olga Fonda.
So, will “Real Steel” go all twelve rounds and bring the box office mojo to spur a sequel? DreamWorks thinks so. In case you missed it, or forgot about it, here’s the first teaser for the film.
