Director Luc Besson has a strong line in making kick-ass action heroines see Nikita and Lucy for details and for years he tried to get a direct sequel made to Leon; which would have followed the late hitmans apprentice Matilda. This was the breakout role for young Natalie Portman, and Besson was eager to follow the character becoming an assassin when she grew up. He waited until Portman was older before pursuing the idea, but when he had a falling out with the studio that produced Leon the project went into development hell. Portman became a bigger star as the years went by, and the odds of a sequel ever happening became slimmer and slimmer. In the end, Besson gave up on the idea and his proposed script was given a drastic overhaul to become Columbiana. The parallels between the two characters are clear; they both lost their parents and were trained to become assassins at a young age. Sadly the film lacked the heart that made Leon work, and it was swiftly forgotten after release.
