Given the critical, box office and awards success heaped on The Queen, it was only natural that the team behind the film would be considering another. Plus, given that writer Peter Morgan always considered writing a trilogy – including Channel 4’s TV movie The Deal – a third outing for Tony Blair was inevitable.
So none of us are that surprised to hear that Morgan is now researching the script and will start writing before the year is out on an as-yet-untitled drama that will focus on Blair dealing with the handover of power from Democratic US president Bill Clinton to his Republican successor, George W Bush. It’s a rich source for drama, as, while Clinton and Blair saw eye-to-eye on many subjects, El Tone didn’t quite mesh as well behind the scenes with Dubya.
“Peter always hoped to do a trilogy to mark the Blair years that we've all lived through, but it's been difficult to find the right point at which to look at Blair in power, producer Andy Harries blabbed to Variety. "He sees this as a pivotal moment when the special relationship between Britain and America changed.”
While he’s not signed, we’re sure Michael Sheen will agree to return as Blair (perhaps this will give him his much-deserved Oscar shot) with Stephen Frears likely to return also. And since he was so good in The Deal, we seriously want to see David Morrissey recapture some former glory as Gordon Brown. After Basic Instinct 2 and The Reaping, he’s probably crying out for some decent work.
