Evangeline Lilly Says There Will Never Be a REAL STEEL 2
I missed the release of Real Steel, but it looked like a fun movie. A little later, I got to watch it at home and I really liked it. I was expecting a film more focused on the robots and the fights compared to the warm-hearted film we did get. Hugh Jackman and Evangeline Lilly were incredible as always. I’ve always kind of hoped they would revisit the film in some way. Sadly, Lilly has shot any hopes of that happening. At a panel at FanX, Lilly was asked about the possibility of a sequel, and she explained that it’s just not going to happen. She says that she’d love to do it, but due to poor marketing and box office numbers, the sequel would never happen.
“I honestly was with you guys in pushing really hard for a Real Steel 2 — to the extent that when I got the feedback that when they were going to do it and then they were having issues in the writing room, I went off and I outlined and wrote my own version of Real Steel 2 and what I would do. Like ‘if you just need ideas, I’ve got tons of ideas.
I just think the wrong people ended up in the theater, and by the time it got to the right people…it was already long past theater time and out on DVD and it hadn’t done the theater numbers that we hoped. And so I’ve been told we’re never going to see a Real Steel 2, and as much as I would love to work with Hugh again and I would love to work with Shawn Levy again, something beautiful about that remains sacred. I tend not to be a fan of sequels, period. I kind of love the idea of leaving well enough alone and just treasuring and cherishing a thing as it is, so I’m kind of two minds about that.”
I’ve included a video from the panel where Lilly was talking about her upcoming book, The Squickerwonkers. The Real Steel question happens around the 15:50 mark.