Mark Millar Says KICK-ASS 2 Window Is Closing

Is the window on a Kick-Ass 2 movie closing? That seems to be the reality today as a dejected sounding Mark Millar, writer/creator of the comic book upon which the film was based, told Hero Complex recently that at this stage the chances of a sequel are growing slimmer by the day.

€œHopefully, we can use the same actors if and when we do a sequel, but getting Matthew to direct or Jane to write a movie at this budget would be very difficult because they€™re superstars now and they have projects of their own,€ €œI€™d imagine, if this happens any time soon, that Matthew will produce and possibly co-write, like George Lucas did with €˜The Empire Strikes Back,€™ and hire a new director. But there€™s a window because the actors are all supposed to be in high school and if this came out after 2013, for example, that window would have closed. I obviously know more than I can say, but I think people will be pretty happy with the conversations we€™ve been having.€

That's a far cry from the Millar who previously told us Kick-Ass 2, subtitled 'Balls to the Wall' after his comic book follow-up, would begin shooting this summer once Vaughn was done with X-Men: First Class (which obviously never happened because he was bloody knackered after less than a year turn-a-round on that huge 20th Century Fox blockbuster) and that the film would be in theatres next year, which clearly isn't going to be the case. Millar has been known to be a man who is highly excitable and who stretches the truth sometimes to please his fans but to hear him say that the window is closing, well it doesn't look too good for those wanting to see the sequel that Christopher Mintz-Plasse's Red Mist promised when he ended the original film with the words "I'll be back". Clearly Vaughn was thinking about a sequel at that point otherwise he wouldn't have made it so obvious... Aside from the fact the original didn't perform as expected at the box office, the hold up for the sequel seems to be coming from Matthew Vaughn who is clearly much more excited about the prospect of continuing the story of the X-Men characters from 'First Class' into the late 60's/early 70's and beyond and we should remind ourselves that he said as recently as a few months back of the original;

€œIt was a special moment to me making that film and I don€™t want to spoil it. I€™m not saying it€™s as good as €˜Pulp Fiction€™ but I think it would be weird if Tarantino did €˜Pulp Fiction 2.€™ Everything that made €˜Kick-Ass€™ original and fun, if you do it again, it would be crass€€

Hardly someone who is weeks/months away from entering pre-production on it then, despite Millar's regular calls. Perhaps he will compromise and make the fleeting jesture of just putting his name on as a producer but in any event Millar clearly thinks the next 14 months are vital on whether the film will actually happen or not and obviously Chloe Moretz is aging at the time when it's becoming more and more noticeable and she wouldn't be able to play Hit Girl as written for too much longer. Aaron Johnson might get a few more years out of the lead character but not too many. I do hope we get that Kick-Ass sequel as I did enjoy the original and I think there's potential here for an Indie-style Spider-Man series, but Millar looks like he might have trouble without Vaughn/Goldman's support as their help (and family/friends like Brad Pitt, Guy Ritchie and Jonathan Ross help funded the flick) made it happen and the weak box office means he won't get any more help by himself than he did last time out.