Director Shawn Levy is still two weeks away from the release of his robot boxing movie, “Real Steel,” but development work has already begun on a sequel. It’s a show of faith from DreamWorks and producer Steven Spielberg.
“Yes, well, the studio’s faith is very strong,” Levy told The Playlist during a recent interview in Los Angeles. “Even ‘Night at the Museum’ didn’t test like this. People were cheering in a movie theater. The last time I remember that happening was in ‘Rocky III’ with Clubber Lang or even against Drago in ‘Rocky IV.’ So we got that kind of visceral reaction from audiences and the studio not only took the bullish move of developing a sequel and asking me to sign on but then also didn’t deny it when it leaked in the press. That was a show of confidence that hopefully we will reward.”
Levy also confirmed to Playlist that he is signed on to direct the sequel and that the principal cast members will reprise their roles. We asked Levy how quickly the studio would green light the sequel and whether it could jump ahead of previously announced projects “Frankenstein” and “Fantastic Voyage.” “I don’t think it can,” admits Levy. “I think ‘Real Steel’ will open strong, but I think it’s going to run stronger. There’s only so much you can tell about this movie in a commercial. The movie reveals itself as a whole. So, in the same way that ‘Date Night’ and ‘Night at the Museum’ did not open massive, it will be the legs. I’ve been lucky with the legs in my movies and I think ‘Real Steel’ can have that. So it wouldn’t be the Monday after opening weekend. It’s gonna be a month. It will be November before we know. But Hugh is on ‘Les Miserables’ at least into early summer and quite possibly right into ‘Wolvy’ after that. I need to wait and see what shakes out with Hugh’s schedule and mine. But we are both committed to the sequel if this movie is a hit.”
Also, apparently the budget is around $80 million. Not bad, considering the scope and effects.