Last month, director Adam Wingard confirmed that Paramount Pictures’ upcoming Face/Off project is indeed being developed as a ‘direct sequel’ instead of as a remake, which is contrary to previous reports. Now, in a recent interview with Showbiz Cheat Sheet (via Screen Rant), when asked about the potential involvement of original stars Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, the Godzilla vs. Kong director confirmed that both actors are currently interested in reprising their roles but are still waiting for the script approval before they officially sign on.
Wingard also stressed how it is important for Cage and Travolta to return because the sequel is being set to continue to tell the story of Castor Troy and Sean Archer.
He explained, “Some people just assume when I say that that it just means it takes place in the world of Face/Off. To me, Face/Off isn’t about a procedure or anything like that. It’s not about the world that the characters exist in. It’s about Sean Archer and it’s about Castor Troy. That’s what this movie is about. It’s the continuation of that story. It’s hard to talk about other than that but this is, to me, the definitive continuation of that saga.”
He also went to reveal new pre-production updates concerning the progress of its script by confirming that they will soon be turning in the first draft to Paramount.
“We’re still writing the script so it’s still in early phases,” Wingard said. “Simon and I are very close to turning in our draft to Paramount soon. We’ll have to get over those hurdles of do they like this movie? They’ve read our outline. Everybody’s on board with it but actually turning in the script’s a different thing so we’ll see how everybody reacts to it.”
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The sequel is set to be helmed by Wingard, who will co-write the script with frequent collaborator Simon Barrett, whose previous credits include the 2016 found-footage horror sequel Blair Witch, the 2014 Dan Stevens-led thriller The Guest, the 2011 horror-comedy You’re Next, and 2010 horror A Horrible Way to Die, all of which were helmed by Wingard. Neal H. Moritz is also attached to produce the project for Paramount while David Permut, who served as a producer on the original, will executive produce.
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Released in 1997 and directed by John Woo on a script from Mike Werb (The Mask) and Michael Colleary (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), the original film starred John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage as freelance terrorist and sociopath Castor Troy, arch enemies on each side of the law. When Troy plants a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles but being knocked into a coma during the FBI’s apprehension of him, Archer must go undercover as Troy with his crew utilizing a special new technology that allows him to surgically swap faces with the terrorist. Though when Troy wakes up and finds his face gone, he takes on Archer’s identity, leading to a race against time to keep the other from destroying their life.
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Upon its summer 1997 release, the film received rave reviews from critics for the performances from its leads and hyper-stylized action sequences helmed by Woo and garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Effects Editing and grossed over $245 million at the global box office.
