This summer, Luc Besson faceplanted when his supremely costly “Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets” — the most expensive film ever produced in France — flopped hard. Budgeted at €197.47 million (about $210 million U.S.) the film may have covered most of its costs with pre-sales, but the final tally of $223 million worldwide was nothing to boast about. So it’s not a surprise his EuropaCorp is pivoting back to modestly budgeted genre flicks, and franchising their properties as much as possible. Thus, it’s time to start thinking about “Lucy” again.
The 2014 action flick is exactly the kind of thing that EuropaCorp want to get back to. With a budget of $40 million, the Scarlett Johansson starring movie earned a whopping $463 million worldwide and it wasn’t long until sequel talk sparked. Way back in 2015, Besson confirmed he had completed the script, and while things have been quiet since, now the project looks to be back on the table.
Variety reveals that “Lucy 2” (not the official title) is now in development, though it’s unclear how far along it is. Besson has previously said he wouldn’t be directing, and in fact, he’s apparently gearing up to shoot his new movie this month. It will be an English language feature, with a budget of $30 million, but there are no further details just yet.
All this is to say, with audiences dying for Marvel to make a “Black Widow” movie, maybe Besson and co. will be amply rewarded for getting ScarJo back for more “Lucy” instead.