Doug Liman Reveals the Real Reason He's Making an 'Edge of Tomorrow' Sequel
Director Doug Liman's latest film, the incredibly tense wartime thriller "The Wall," opens this weekend and is very much worth checking out. But while I was talking to the wonderfully talented filmmaker about his new film, we had to ask about a potential sequel to "Edge of Tomorrow," his jaw-dropping 2014 sci-fi masterpiece that starred Tom Cruise as a cowardly grunt who, thanks to some alien goop, relives the same bloody beachside battle over and over and over again. It's like "Groundhog Day" with automatic weapons and, despite a modest box office haul, has gained a sizable cult following. Screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie has spoken about returning to the alien-infested well, and so we had to ask about the status of the sequel.
"Chris and I came up with a great story that I love. We normally never do a sequel. I might produce it, like with 'Bourne,' but for me to direct a sequel, it's got to be better than the original," Liman explained. "And we've got a story that passes the litmus test for me of how I decide whether or not I'll make a movie which is every one of my friends knows the story of this movie because I've told it at every dinner party. I just like telling the story. It's so cool and so funny and so sharp and wicked. I constantly find myself telling the story. So I'm like, I've got to make the movie so I don't have to tell the story over and over again. And 'Swingers,' I was telling the story before I made it, 'The Wall' I'm telling the story before I make it. The movies I end up making are the ones that I am compelled to tell over and over again with words first."
As I was leaving the room I asked if everyone, including Cruise and Emily Blunt (who is absolutely terrific in the first film), would be returning, and he said yes. Then, he said, "It's going to be really cool." Cannot wait.
If you need your Liman fix, "The Wall" is in theaters this week.