Fangirls everywhere can rejoice and relax. Constantin Film announced this morning their plans to go ahead with the production of City of Ashes, the second installment in Cassandra Clare's best-selling book series, The Mortal Instruments, in 2014.
Production of the sequel was put to a halt this September as The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones underwhelmed at the box office, earning about $31 million domestically with a $60 million budget and another $60 million spent on marketing. Internationally, though, the film has grossed nearly $100 million.
The film being a financial flop did nothing to deter the intense loyalty of the fans of the series.
"The fan response, from the blogosphere and the thousands of mails we have received, has encouraged us to keep going,” said Martin Moszkowicz, head of film and TV at Constantin, in an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “It's been overwhelmingly positive, in contrast to some other YA titles.”
Melissa de la Cruz, author of Blue Bloods and Witches of Eastwick, tweeted her excitement at the news.
Love this news that the FANS put City of Ashes back in production! Yay @cassieclare! http://t.co/50vSOBQ4i6
— Melissa de la Cruz (@MelissadelaCruz) October 23, 2013
Moszkowicz said they are looking into the issues of City of Bones.
“We are analyzing what we did wrong with the first film -- particularly with the positioning and marketing -- and what changes we have to make. We are working with a great group of people to reposition the franchise [for City of Ashes].”
One reason the film underperformed could be who they were targeting.
“The readers of Mortal Instruments are older than you might think,” Moszkowicz noted. “That may have been one issue in our marketing, that we focused too much on a very young audience segment."
Director Harald Zwart and cast members Lily Collins, Jamie Campbell Bower and Robert Sheehan are all signed on for the sequel, as well as a possible third film.
Photo Courtesy of Sony