It’s happening again. Hot on the winged heels of Real Steel and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows comes Wrath of the Titans, which like its forebears has a sequel in the works well in advance of its release date. Granted, like those other movies, Wrath is expected to have enormous sequel potential since the last film in the series, Clash of the Titans, grossed nearly $500 million worldwide.
But is Wrath of the Titans really a sure thing? People seem to forget that the success of a sequel has more to do with the enduring quality the previous film in the franchise. So much of a film’s box office success is generated in the first week of release that little things like “word of mouth” don’t have the chance to make an impact. The Dark Knight made a record-breaking $158 million on its opening weekend coming off of the popularity of Batman Begins, which made only $49 million on its opening weekend, which came after the disastrous Batman and Robin, which is one of the most reviled movies of all time. In a franchise, anticipation for a sequel depends on the quality of the previous film, and while some defend Clash of the Titans, the film’s popularity never seems to have reached zeitgeist proportions.
On the other hand, Warner Bros. has seen more of Wrath of the Titans than anyone else at this point, so maybe they know something we don’t. Or maybe they’re victims of wishful thinking, like when Disney greenlit Real Steel 2 months before the first film was released, and performed under expectations at the box office despite being pretty darned good. The point is that Warner Bros. is taking a bit of risk investing in a sequel now, when the movie isn’t even set to be released for another five months.
Another other hand, it’s not like they’re going into production right away. Hollywood Reporter has announced that Warner Bros. has hired Dan Mazeau and David Leslie Johnson, co-writers of Wrath of the Titans (along with Steven Knight) to merely develop a treatment for a third film. We suppose that if the new film is successful, this will allow Warner Bros. to jump into production more quickly than if they waited, and that the cost of hiring screenwriters to develop a story can be viewed as an insurance policy. If the sequel isn’t warranted, it’s a small price to pay for being prepared “just in case.”
Plot details are nowhere to be found regarding the third movie, but that Wrath of the Titans‘ new character of “Agenor,” played by Prince of Persia‘s Toby Kebbell, could figure prominently after his appearance in the new film. Guess he doesn’t die or turn out to be the bad guy or anything, huh?
CraveOnline will return with more Clash of the Titans 3 news as soon as we figure out where they’re getting all the rest of these Perseus stories from. He only appeared in so many myths in the first place… What, are they just making this stuff up now?
