News of a sequel to 2007’s Oscar-nominated crime drama Eastern Promises has been the stuff of rumours ever since the original debuted to much acclaim. Though they were once only rumors, it appears as if there was some truth behind them. The eye-opening twist here is that while leads Viggo Mortenson and Vincent Cassel will return, director David Cronenberg will not.
According to Vulture, it will be Steven Knight that will step behind the camera – the man having written the original and this forthcoming follow-up. Reportedly, Eastern Promises 2 (which will very likely be renamed something less, well, stupid) will pick up where the last film ended.
Here is the official synopsis:
SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT SEEN THE ORIGINAL
“Follows the incompetent underboss Kirill (Cassel) thinking that he and his henchman driver Nikolai (Mortensen) really have inherited the throne from his crime-lord father, without knowing that Nikolai is actually a clandestine agent working undercover inRussia’s federal security service.”
There is no official word on why Cronenberg will not be returning, but perhaps he is moving along with his long-delayed project Maps to the Stars, which will unite him with Cosmopolis lead Robert Pattinson and (coincidently) Viggo Mortenson.
Steven Knight is also working on the 2013 action thriller Hummingbird starring Jason Statham (which he will also direct) and Emma’s War from director Tony Scott. The man is a class-act screenwriter so let’s hope he does this sequel justice.
Eastern Promises 2 is expected to go into production sometime in early 2013.
