With “Immortals” landing next week, “Wrath of the Titans” next spring and “300: Battle of Artemisia” arriving the year after that, you’d think that might be enough buff dudes yelling for the next little while. But apparently not, as Warner Bros. is banking on the fact you’re gonna want to see more mythological figures clanging swords or whatever.
Even though it’s over five months away and we haven’t even seen the trailer yet, the studio is not wasting any time, hiring ‘Wrath’ writers Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson to write the script for the third installment. It might seem premature, but this is par for the course these days. DreamWorks got a “Real Steel” sequel going months before it hit theaters, and writer Anthony Horowitz is already working on the followup to “The Adventures of Tintin.” In these tentpole-heavy times, it’s just smart business to be thinking one or even two films ahead (just ask Marvel) so that you’re ready if a movie is a runaway success and if it’s not…at least you’re weren’t caught with the tail between your legs. Curiously, while no story details have been firmed up, a potential third installment would center around Agenor, a sidekick-like character played by Toby Kebell.
Whether ‘Wrath’ will warrant a follow-up remains to be seen. While critics slammed “Clash of the Titans,” audiences came out in droves to the tune of nearly $500 million worldwide, which is nothing to sneeze at. If the follow-up can match that performance, you can bet the wheels on part three will turn quickly. The great irony here is that WB is repeating the same mistake from the first film, and tossing the movie through the much derided post-conversion process again. Of course, everyone is claiming it will be different this time and the process has gotten much better, but we’ll see about that.
Sam Worthington, Gemma Arterton, Edgar Ramirez, Toby Kebbell, Rosamund Pike, Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes star in the movie that will hit theaters on March 30, 2012. [THR]
