Having written the superlative script for surprise superhero smash Chronicle , it was disappointing to hear that Max Landis had parted ways with Fox on the upcoming sequel.
Landis has since taken to Twitter to outline the story he would have told, the screenplay for a sequel named Martyr , which sounds a much darker tale than the original…
“Gone was the aspirational ‘what would you do’,” begins Landis. “Gone were the pranks and the bromance, gone were lovely tragic Andrew and hopeful, bright Steve.”
“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.”
“It was, in my estimation, a sequel that elaborated on the ideas and situations from the first to create a different genre of movie. In the best of worlds, in my optimistic but wildly prejudiced eyes, this could make it an Aliens , a Terminator 2 … in the worst a Grease 2 ."
“So, at the end of the day, maybe it’s better that Martyr never saw the light of day. Sad I didn’t get to do some of my other versions. The multi-movie low [ budget ] Chronicle -based found footage superhero universe culminating in an Avengers type team up was a real good one.”
Sounds as though it would have been intriguing, doesn't it? Hopefully Fox have something equally exciting lined up as an alternative, and not just a retread of the first movie...
