Writer Max Landis has never failed in being a wellspring of ideas, whether on his rapid-fire
Twitter feed or on-camera describing Superman’s values. But the most-lobbied amount of hints—and now
musings on missed potential—rests with “Chronicle 2,” the sequel to Josh Trank‘s Landis-penned superhero hit. For some time, rumors flew that 20th
Century Fox weren’t pleased with the young screenwriter’s vision, now leading
to the fact that they’re moving on without him, but that news hasn’t stopped Landis from discussing
what could’ve been.
In a frank and informative
explanation divided up on Twitter (and collected by Bleeding Cool), Landis took the opportunity to explain
the direction of his “Chronicle 2” script, entitled “Martyr,” but admitted that fans of the first film might not have been
“ready or eager for my second installment as originally written.”
He wrote of his draft: “Gone was the aspirational ‘what would you
do,’ gone were the pranks and bromance, gone were lovely tragic Andrew
and hopeful, bright Steve” (played by Dane DeHaan and Michael
B. Jordan, respectively, both deceased by the end of the film).
“In their place was a dark, frustratingly unblinking stare into
a complicated world that posed the question is it worth it to be a hero, told
from the point of view of a heartbroken and insane woman who would martyr
herself to the cause of being the world’s first villain,” he continued.
A logical guess might place this unhinged woman as the protagonist and
heart of the film—creating what Landis says to be “a different
genre of movie than the first;” this point, if true, might provide
a clue as to Fox’s objections about the script’s tone and material.
Surprisingly, Landis also
envisioned making his found footage superhero universe culminate in
an “Avengers-type team up,” and claims “the most frustrating thing
is that I don’t know if I’ll get the opportunity to explain what MOGO
was or what he was doing in that cave.” But knowing Landis (who’s
currently shooting his directorial debut, “Me Him
Her”)
and his rate of output, it’s a good bet more details on “Martyr”
are forthcoming—even as they’re separated from Fox’s direction with the would-be franchise.
