Peter Berg Is Still Talking About Hancock 2

Just when some moviegoers were beginning to tire of the seemingly unrelenting wave of superhero action movies, director Peter Berg and mega-star Will Smith turned the genre on its head and released Hancock. The final film, about a burned-out and cantankerous superhero, may not have quite lived-up to its especially clever marketing pitch but the project did well enough to warrant a sequel.?However, after nearly four years, the fledgling movie franchise seemed to be slipping closer and closer to one-and-done territory.

That is until Berg started chatting with reporters in the media build-up to his big budget Battleship movie (check out our interview with Berg for more) ? due out May 2012. According to the director, Hancock 2 is definitely still in the works and it?s just a matter of getting everyone in a room?to hash-out the details.

Berg spoke with Comic Book Movie about the potential sequel:

?We?ve been talking about the sequel between us, Will Smith, [producers] Michael Mann and Akiva goldman and myself. We?re all interested, but we literally just have trouble getting into the same room at the same time. We did have a series of meetings last year and started to hash out an idea for sequel ? and Will Smith actually had the idea ? so I think it will happen, it?s just a question of timing.?

It?s understandable that most of the people involved would be interested in working on Hancock 2 ? especially given that that film ultimately grossed over $624 million worldwide. Not to mention sequels, even sequels to movies that weren?t blockbuster megahits (see Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance?and?Punisher: War Zone) are still a great platform for big business at the box office ? as is Will Smith ? who doesn?t always pass on opportunities to reprise roles (even less-iconic ones).

While superhero sequels can be somewhat of a mixed bag, Hancock (likely to its detriment) put out a metric ton of background story by the end of the first movie ? star-crossed lovers, romance triangles, and a convoluted ?origin? explanation. As a result, where the filmmakers decide to take the story, as opposed to whether or not they?ll actually do it, is the more interesting question. Especially given that the down-on-his-luck superhero angle from the original is likely to be much more interesting (and entertaining) than catching-up with Hancock as an actual crime fighter.

Berg had previously indicated that there might also be another super-powered person like Hancock out there ? which, if the filmmakers went that route, would at least give Will Smith a real threat to fight in the next installment. That said, given the origin ?twist? in the Hancock mythos ? it could also make for an especially exhausting history lesson.

Hancock 2 is little more than a gleam in?Berg?s eye at this point ? but we?ll keep you updated as we hear more.

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Follow me on Twitter?@benkendrick?for further updates.

Source: Comic Book Movie [via The Playlist]

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1924345/news/1924345/

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