In literally one month's time, Brad Bird's The Iron Giant makes its triumph return to theaters. But if Vin Diesel, the voice actor behind the titular character, is to be believed, his robotic super-friend won't be flying too far away.
Talking about how lucky he was to play the character in a recent Facebook post, via Slashfilm, as he promoted the Signature Edition coming to cinemas on Sept. 30 and Oct. 4, the Fast & Furious actor/producer slipped an chatter-worthy aside: "P.S. Don't be surprised when you hear WB announce the sequel."
The key word here is "when," not if, suggesting WB wants a continuation, despite the first underperforming financially. Of course, if they're interested in a new movie, they'd want Diesel's involvement. You can't make an Iron Giant sequel without the Giant. And if it does well in its theatrical return/subsequent Blu-Ray release this fall — with Bird's rising status and the original cliffhanger ending in mind — sequel talk makes sense. But there are a number of complications.
For one, Bird's already hard-at-work on an Incredibles 2, which eats his time until at least 2017, maybe 2018. They could make it without him, but considering how poorly they marketed its 1999 release, that'd be a huge slap in the face for him and fans. Secondly, Eli Marienthal, the child voice actor behind Hogarth, is now 29 and no longer in the business.
If they made a sequel, would it take place over 20 years after-the-fact? Would they try getting a different actor? The original played with the nation's fear of the Cold War in the '50s, and they could still tackle that in the '60s. The dichotomy of an adult Hogarth with his metal friend could be interesting, but it evaporates, you know, the whole child-like innocence angle.
Bear in mind, this speculation comes from the guy who, earlier this year, said Furious 7 will win Best Picture, so a grain of salt is necessary. But it'd be wonderful to see the Giant soar again.
Image courtesy of INFphoto.com