An unfortunate consequence of Top Gun: Maverick being the monster success that it was? Just when Hollywood was beginning to learn its lesson with reboots of and sequels to beloved films decades after the fact, the promise of all those box office dollars effectively wiped the chalkboard clean. In other words, you (kinda) have Tom Cruise to thank for the coming Gladiator sequel starring Paul Mescal and potentially the long-rumoured Face/Off 2.
During a recent interview with Collider, Nicolas Cage – who portrayed the iconic Castor Troy opposite John Travolta’s equally-iconic Sean Archer in the 1997 action flick – recounted a story idea that had been previously floated, which may or may not serve as the basis of whatever follow-up eventually screens in global theatres.
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“I think Face/Off is a sequel that lends itself to a lot of twists and turns and unpredictability. It’s almost like if you factor in the idea of offspring and Castor and Sean having children and these children grow up,” explained Nicolas Cage.
“Then it becomes like three-dimensional chess, and then it’s not just the two, John Travolta and myself, it’s four of us ping-ponging and going at different levels, and it becomes even more complex. I think there’s a lot of fertile ground there.”
So how likely is this to actually enter production, helmed by director Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs Kong) in place of the legendary John Woo? If anyone knows anything about the project’s current status, it certainly isn’t the Cageman himself…
“I had maybe one meeting in an office, but I haven’t heard anything since, so I don’t know.”
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Speaking to Empire last year, Wingard explained the numerous reasons why now was the perfect time for Face/Off 2, key amongst them being Cage’s renewed popularity and career renaissance.
“He’s just having such a moment. Even before Pig came out, we saw this as a Nicolas Cage movie. That’s become totally the obvious way to go now,” said Adam Wingard, who is reportedly penning the screenplay alongside regular collaborator Simon Barrett.
“A couple of years ago, the studio maybe would have wanted a hot, young, up-and-coming actor or something. Now, Nicolas Cage is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood again. We’re really honing in on [the script].”
“We’re not going to share it until everybody’s like, ‘This is the one.’ I think we really got it.”
Although don’t be surprised if we’re forced to wait a little longer.
Wingard added: “It has been probably the most challenging script we’ve ever worked on, for a lot of reasons. There’s so much pressure in wanting to make sure that it lives up to the legacy of that project. But every draft you have these things that just click in, and you’re like, ‘A-ha! That’s really what Face/Off is!'”
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The original Face/Off involved the high-concept story of a terrorist – Castor Troy – (Nicolas Cage) and the obsessive FBI agent – Sean Archer (John Travolta) – tasked with hunting him down.
After the pair are involved in a plane crash that renders Troy severely injured, possibly dead, Archer undergoes surgery to remove his face and replace it with Troy’s to use as a disguise to elicit information about a bomb from Troy’s brother.
But when Troy awakes from a coma, he forces the doctor who performed the surgery to transplant Archer’s face onto him, setting a chaotic cat-and-mouse battle in motion. Classic 90s shenanigans.
We’ll let you know if there are any updates regarding a possible Face/Off 2.
