Hugh Jackman’s Underrated Sci-Fi Sequel Gets Hopeful Response From Director 13 Years Later

Real Steel 2 is still a possibility for Shawn Levy and Hugh Jackman. The original 2011 sci-fi sports film was loosely based on the Richard Matheson short story “Steel” and revolved around a former boxer who seeks to connect with his ex-son by building and training a robot boxer together. Also starring future Marvel Cinematic Universe veterans Anthony Mackie and Evangeline Lilly, the film garnered mixed to positive reviews from critics and was a modest box office success, grossing just under $300 million. dollars compared to its production budget of $110 million.

By attending CinemaCon to showcase new Deadpool and Wolverine pictures, Rant screen interviewed Shawn Levy. When asked if he and Jackman had ever talked Real Steel 2 upcoming, especially after working on Ryan Reynolds’ MCU trio, the director confirmed that he and the star continue to talk about it, citing one of the main reasons why hopes for a sequel remain alive for them. Check out what Levy shared below:

We’re still talking about Real Steel 2. Because the world won’t let us forget, and I’m happy about that.

Real Steel 2 is closer than ever to completion

Even though more than a decade has passed since the release of the first film, the chances of Real Steel 2 achieving it is not totally impossible. In the years since its release, the original has garnered a steady cult following thanks to its effective underdog story, fresh twist on the sports drama genre, and Jackman’s charming lead role. Disney also relies on cult followings for projects such as Disney+. willow show next and next Tron: Aresthey might very well want to capitalize with a sequel to the film.

The studio is already taking steps in this direction with a Real steel the show will enter development for Disney+ in early 2022. Word has remained largely silent on the project in the years since, with the latest update coming from Levy, who is on board as a producer, in February 2022, which indicated they were still looking for a showrunner, Leave Him Alone set up a writer’s room. Given that 2023 was affected by widespread SAG-AFTRA and Writers Guild of America strikes, it seems likely that development was delayed, especially since Levy was busy that year working on Deadpool and Wolverine.

Should the MCU trio prove to be a success in the same vein as 2021’s Free guythis would go a long way toward establishing that Levy has some influence over Disney to get Real Steel 2 do. Additionally, the recent success of the original film on Netflix and Mackie’s continued efforts to get the sequel off the ground could very well help even more. Levy’s own hopes of teaming up with Reynolds and Jackman for the film could be even more enticing for the studio to try to capitalize on. Deadpool and Wolverine.

Real steel

Based on a short story that also inspired an episode of Twilight Zone, Real Steel imagines a world in which the sport of boxing has been taken over by fighting robots. Former boxer Charlie builds a boxing robot with his son Max, aiming to regain glory in his sport.

Release date

October 7, 2011

Writers

John Gatins

Duration

127 minutes

Budget

$110 million