Adam Wingard Says Nicolas Cage & John Travolta May Return For Face/Off 2

Adam Wingard is at work on the script for his Face/Off sequel, and he says that Nicolas Cage and John Travolta may return for it. As previously reported Wingard is co-writing and directing the planned direct sequel to the John Woo sci-fi/action film and while speaking with Showbiz Cheat Sheet, he confirmed that Cage and Travolta are both interested in reprising their roles depending on how the script shakes out.

“Some people just assume when I say that that it just means it takes place in the world of Face/Off,” Wingard said. “To me, Face/Off isn’t about a procedure or anything like that. It’s not about the world that the characters exist in. It’s about Sean Archer and it’s about Castor Troy. That’s what this movie is about. It’s the continuation of that story. It’s hard to talk about other than that but this is, to me, the definitive continuation of that saga.”

He noted that the actors have script approval, saying, “We’re still writing the script so it’s still in early phases. Simon [Barrett] and I are very close to turning in our draft to Paramount soon. We’ll have to get over those hurdles of do they like this movie? They’ve read our outline. Everybody’s on board with it but actually turning in the script’s a different thing so we’ll see how everybody reacts to it.”

The original film released in 1997 and was directed by Woo. It starred Cage and John Travolta as Castor Troy and Sean Archer, a terrorist and FBI agent with a blood feud after Troy tried to assassinate Archer but killed his son instead. After a battle to capture Castor leaves him in a coma, Archer is convinced to underdo an experimental procedure to put Troy’s face on his and assume his form to go undercover in a top-secret high security prison to get information on a nuclear bomb planted in Los Angeles. However, Castor wakes up and gets Archer’s face put on his, immersing himself in Archer’s family and putting the two on a collision course.

The film was a big hit, grossing $245.7 million worldwide on a budget of $80 million and marking Woo’s biggest success in America at that time.