Doug Liman reveals details about the Edge of Tomorrow sequel
After directing the surprise hit of 2014, Doug Liman is ready for some more time travelling action with Edge of Tomorrow 2
Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow was one of the most refreshing entries into the action genre. The movie was lauded for Tom Cruise & Emily Blunt’s performances and the perfect amalgamation of Liman’s smart direction & Christopher McQuarrie’s crisp screenplay. However, despite the movie’s critical success, it never got the sequel fans wanted. Now, after a lot of stalling, Liman has reported that the much awaited sequel to All You Need is Kill’s cinematic adaptation might be right around the corner.
Liman had a pretty hectic 2017 as he directed two back-to-back films, American Made and The Wall. However, that didn’t stop the director from working on Chaos Walking, starring Daisy Ridley & Tom Holland, and writing and directing his YouTube series Impulse. So, while Liman was busy promoting Impulse at the TCA’s, Collider caught up with him and extracted details about Edge of Tomorrow 2.
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Although McQuarrie was occupied with Mission: Impossible 6, he had provided the initial idea for Edge of Tomorrow 2. So, it’s relieving to know that writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse have converted into a satisfactory draft that is being worked upon by Liman. Additionally, considering how Blunt, Cruise and Liman‘s schedules will be free by the end of this year or the beginning of 2019, fans can expect the action-packed sequel to arrive by 2020.
What can we expect from Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow sequel?
When Edge of Tomorrow hit theaters in 2014 with a $178 million budget, it barely managed to make its money back, despite having big names and a blockbuster appeal to it. However, when it hit home video, Liman’s sci-fi venture received so much appreciation that the creators decided to respond with a worthy sequel. In short, since Liman knows what Edge of Tomorrow means for fans, we can trust him to respect that sentiment and make a movie that’s for the fans.
From a narrative point-of-view, Edge of Tomorrow had fleshed out Cruise’s William Cage and Blunt’s Rita Vrataski in compelling ways. As Cage transformed from a coward looking for materialistic gains to a man who sacrificed everything that proved his heroism or his love for Vrataski, it’ll be interesting to see how he utilizes his skills and maturity in the sequel. Additionally, as Vrataski’s brief backstory and her camaraderie with Cage showed that she’s much more than the bad-ass warrior she portrays, fans can expect Liman to explore her character in much more detail.
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We’ve seen how most action blockbusters suffer from lack of emotion as they resort to upping the scale with each bloated set-piece. However, this is where Edge of Tomorrow succeeded as it followed the “obstacle-success-obstacle-success” format of progression, thereby increasing the stakes even though the scale kept decreasing. As Edge of Tomorrow 2 already has well-established characters, we can expect Liman, along with Shrapnel and Waterhouse, to double down that on that and provide a sequel/prequel that is as satisfying as the original.
What are your expectations for Edge of Tomorrow 2? Let me know in the comments.