Nicolas Cage recently addressed whether or not he'd return for the long-in-development Face/Off 2. The original 1997 action opus was one of director John Woo's most successful forays into Hollywood filmmaking and a major hit, grossing over $241 million worldwide. The film follows John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer and his game of cat-and-mouse with Cage's bomb-prone terrorist Castor Troy. With the help of some advanced (bordering on science fiction) technology, the two swap faces and assume each other's identities.
While talks for a potential sequel to the high-concept, high-octane original have been circulating for a while, it was just last year that Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard was tapped to direct and co-write the project. He's ed by his longtime collaborator Simon Barrett, who's tackling writing duties with him for Paramount Studios. Original The Fast and the Furious producer Neal H. Moritz is attached as well. Wingard promises an even more over-the-top action spectacle than the original and set pieces that top its predecessor.
This heightening could explain why the production has taken some time getting off the ground. The producers have struggled to figure out exactly how complicated Face/Off 2's story can get while remaining decipherable to viewers. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Nicolas Cage raises even more questions as to where the sequel stands. When asked about whether that's a story he'd like to revisit, he states:
"I have not heard hide nor hair about it. So often these things we read about are just conjecture without any base or foundation to it. I feel the same about National Treasure 3. It’s been 14 years. There’s no there, there. So, is it fun to think about? Sure. Would [Face/Off 2] be an exciting movie to make? Oh, hell yeah. But John Woo was such a huge voice in that movie. It couldn’t be a remake. I think these filmmakers even said as much — that something like that would have to be a sequel."
While he seems excited by the prospect of the sequel, it's unclear whether his "heard hide nor hair" comment is in reference to having no further update on the film's status, or whether the previous assertion that Cage is "in talks" to the sequel had perhaps been premature. It's unclear if he's even seen a script or not, and seems to hint at his involvement being "conjecture." Cage has mostly avoided the Hollywood system in recent years, opting to put his efforts into more independent affairs, such as last year's Pig. His meta-comedy, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, seems the closest he's come to returning to a bigger-budget studio vehicle.
This hesitancy to re Hollywood proper could be at the heart of his comments. Cage mostly just seems genuinely happy in the world of indie film and how it leaves him time for his family, saying, "I stopped being interested in going to awards shows and selling myself. I made a decision to pursue a life of contemplation." It could also be the lack of John Woo's involvement in the project, which Cage alludes to being so integral to the original's DNA and to its success. Plus there's the hurdle that Cage's Face/Off character Castor Troy is dead and shenanigans would most definitely have to ensue to resurrect him. Be this all as it may, Cage has a dedicated cult following, so if he were to become involved in Face/Off 2, there would definitely be an audience for the film, and a large one at that.
Source: THR
