In an interesting twist to the 'Journey franchise' (yeah we are still trying to figure out how that happened) - the much-loved British thespian
Michael Caine has added his name to the list of castmembers, marking what in truth is his first paycheck role since he parodied his own legacy as Austin Powers' father eight years ago. Actually, he was in the much loathed Bewitched remake in '05 also, we shouldn't forget that. Titled
Journey 2: Mysterious Island, lead Brendan Fraser is no longer a part of the series and replacing him is
Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson. This is the second time the actor has had a franchise torch passed to him from Fraser (remember The Scorpion King?), and it really does feel like a case of why bother? I don't remember any critics embracing the original, and having lost the lead star - an exec at Warner Bros. owned New Line must really have a personal investment in this series? Maybe their kids love it? $100 million domestic from a $60 million budget is fine, but it's hardly a figure that guarantee's cash back from a sequel. One guy who is back from the first flick however will be
Josh Hutcherson...the guy who almost played Spider-Man. Johnson will play his mum's new boyfriend, Caine his grandfather and they'll be a large action sequence involving giant swarms of bee's. Hmm. The film will obviously be in "eye-popping, jaw-dropping, groundbreaking, extraordinary 3D!", but not the kind where actual 3D cameras are used. The film will be loosely based on another Jules Verne novel titled The Mysterious Island, which is originally a sequel to 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.
Brad Peyton (Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) will shoot in Hawaii and North Carolina.