Vin Diesel is resurrecting yet another niche genre-film character with Lionsgate announcing they’re moving forward with a sequel to “The Last Witch Hunter,” and while a deal hasn’t been closed, there is an expectation that we’ll see veteran actor Michael Caine reprising his role in the fantasy flick, too.
Deadline first mentioned that the project is in development and is now being fast-tracked by Lionsgate and Diesel’s One Race Films, although it isn’t exactly clear if other original cast members will return, such as co-star Rose Leslie (“Game of Thrones,” “The Good Fight”).
Neither a screenwriter nor a director is being mentioned, so this is still early days, and unknown if they’ll attempt to bring back the previous creative team or Breck Eisner (“The Expanse”), who hasn’t helmed a feature film since “The Last Witch Hunter.”
The move to make a second “Witch Hunter” installment is a little perplexing, given the fact that the original release from 2015 didn’t do all that well at the box office, with a weak $147 million on a reported budget of $90 million (so, not exactly a deal based on the previous film’s earnings as they’re citing Netflix streaming numbers). Not to mention dismal reactions from both critics and audiences alike, so it’s a little hard to understand how there is an audience itching for this sequel.
Diesel is also putting together a fourth movie featuring his convict sci-fi character Richard B. Riddick with creator David Twohy writing/directing “Riddick: Furya,” which was said to have started filming in the summer of 2024 (yet, we never heard about a supporting cast) and is awaiting an official release date from Universal Pictures (also behind his “Fast & Furious” franchise).
Earlier in the year, Diesel said publicly he was pushing Universal and director Louis Leterrier to resurrect “Fast & Furious” legacy character Brian O’Conner (played by the late Paul Walker) for the final film, with the presumption they would use CGI and Walker’s brother, Cody Walker, as a stand-in to accomplish that.
There have been rumblings that Legendary might be looking to acquire Lionsgate, so who knows if that deal comes together, “The Last Witch Hunter 2” will survive the shuffling of studio brass and executives, as it doesn’t sound like they’re ready to go anytime soon.
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