Summary
- Director Scott Derrickson is unsure when the long-awaited sequel to
Labyrinth
will happen due to the current crisis in the film industry. -
Labyrinth
has already expanded its universe to comics, video games, books, and theater, making a sequel seem inevitable. - However, the project has faced challenges and is difficult to make commercially viable.
Labyrinth is definitely getting its long-awaited sequel, and Jim Henson Company chairman has confirmed that the movie is one that they are very excited about. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Henson, the son of puppet visionary Jim, said that while he is not driving the project it is one that he is looking forward to.
“Well, that’s a question you have to ask my sister. My sister Lisa, who’s CEO of the Jim Henson Company. That is a project that we are very excited about, but we can’t talk about it.”
Release Date June 27, 1986
Runtime 101
Tagline Where everything seems possible and nothing is what it seems.
Previously, director Scott Derrickson, who is currently tied to the project, revealed that he has no idea when the sequel will happen. While his comments came during last year’s Hollywood strikes, there has been no further update on the project since. The 1986 fantasy classic starring David Bowie has become one of the greatest exponents of the genre, and a movie that has left a mark in the history of cinema. Therefore, now that Hollywood has been constantly releasing new versions or sequels of several old productions, it is not a surprise that Labyrinth will soon be part of that list.
The universe of the movie has already expanded to the world of comics, video games, books and even theater, so the arrival of a sequel seemed imminent. The project, however, has been in development for a long time without coming to fruition. Several directors have appeared to helm the film, until it was announced in 2020 that Doctor Strange’s Scott Derrickson was attached after several others dropped out.
In an interview with ComicBook.com to promote his most recent film, V/H/S/85, the filmmaker offered an update on the Labyrinth sequel, although it is not very hopeful:
“I don’t know what’s happening with that. We never got the script all the way to a place where the studio wanted to make it, but I was very proud of the work that we did on it. And it’s a hard, hard project to turn into something commercially viable, because it’s so imaginative and surreal that there’s no way that it can be done cheaply. And at the same time, it’s so daring and different that it is a tough movie for a studio to feel competent that it has enough commercial value to earn a profit. So I think that it’s a tough nut to crack, but all I can tell you is I’m very proud of the work that we did on it. We certainly had a great film in mind.”
Labyrinth follows the story of Sarah, a girl who must navigate a labyrinth in search of her brother, who was kidnapped by goblins. Inside you will discover a universe where nothing is as it seems. Joining Bowie were Jennifer Connelly, Toby Froud, Christopher Malcolm, Shelley Thompson, and Natalie Finland, with the movie now a fantasy favorite for many.
Related The Black Phone Director Has A Specific Requirement of Making a Sequel Scott Derrickson says a sequel to his 2021 film The Black Phone is possible, but he does have one condition.
Would Scott Derrickson Return to the Superhero Genre?
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Derrickson has been, without a doubt, one of the most interesting names attached to the filmography of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Given that the director has dedicated his artistic life mostly to horror, his work on Doctor Strange was something very different within his career and also for the franchise.
In fact, the filmmaker has not returned to the superhero genre since then, but he would, if there was a project he finds interesting, as he revealed to the outlet:
“I didn’t make
Doctor Strange
because it was a Marvel movie or because it was a comic book movie. I made it because it was specifically the
Doctor Strange
comics, which I loved, and had really strong, powerful feelings about, and felt like I was the right filmmaker to adapt that. So I would for sure go back to comic book cinema if I was working with something that I felt was a good evolution of the genre.
I do think that we’re at a point in time where audiences, and myself included, don’t want to see anything that’s too close to what’s been done. I’m much more interested in the daring spinoffs than the daring genre experimentation with comic book cinema. I think that’s the way you get audiences to reengage with it is by evolving it significantly. That would be my big requirement to go back into that kind of IP-driven comic book world.”
V/H/S/85
is scheduled to be released on October 6, 2023, by Shudder.
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