It's been nearly six years since Interstellar, Christopher Nolan's sci-fi space epic starring
Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, graced silver screens worldwide. In the half-decade-plus
following its October 2014 debut, it seems everyone has wondered whether Nolan would
go back into the depths of space, toy with time, and tug on heartstrings with an Interstellar
sequel. But what are the chances that will actually happen? Will we ever get to see Interstellar
2?
"We'll find a way, Professor, we always have."
With McConaughey's widowed engineer and ex-NASA pilot Joseph Cooper and Hathaway's scientist
Dr. Amelia Brand at its center, Interstellar followed the crew of the spaceship Endurance
as it traveled through a wormhole near Saturn in order to survey 12 worlds that humanity
could move to, abandoning the increasingly uninhabitable Earth. The film grossed nearly
$678 million at the global box office, and earned accolade upon accolade during the 2014-2015
awards season including an Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
Well, Nolan hasn't confirmed or denied that a second Interstellar is in the stars, but
there's some information lingering out there that helps us answer the big question.
McConaughey revealed in November of 2014 that he's open to signing on for a second Interstellar
movie, should the opportunity arise and if everything about the project feels right.
When Sky News asked him whether viewers would get to see an Interstellar sequel with him
reprising his role, McConaughey was open to the idea.
"Well, I don't know, I'd have to go through the due diligence I always do script, director,
et cetera, but it's, uh… it's possible."
He echoed the sentiment with IGN that same month.
"I have no idea, it is teed up for a possibility for... life to carry on and adventures to
carry on."
McConaughey's comments obviously show that he's interested in making an Interstellar
sequel or at least was, as of November 2014. That McConaughey is down to do a sequel shows
that he truly believes in Interstellar as a property and, you know, actor enthusiasm
is a pretty big thing when it comes to getting a follow-up film going.
McConaughey's remarks highlight something very important when it comes to discussing
sequels: whether one would make any sense at all. McConaughey noted that the script
would have to be rock-solid in order for him to join the Interstellar sequel, meaning that
he's not going to go running to the project if the story is even slightly flimsy.
And with Interstellar, a second movie could very much be limp, uninspired, or, worse yet,
forced. Considering where the film left off, there isn't a lot that Nolan or any other
writer-director for that matter could do with a sequel. Sure, it could deal with Cooper's
relationship with Amelia Brand and chronicle their time on Dr. Wolf Edmunds' planet, but
is that something people would be interested in seeing? On the other hand, an Interstellar
follow-up could be more of a spin-off movie possibly centered around Cooper's son, Tom
or it might go the prequel-sequel route.
Of course, the question of audience interest applies with these possibilities. It appears
that the Interstellar fandom is split. Some, like Reddit user bearcat27, are clamoring
for a second film; they wrote in a forum post:
"High on my hardcore Interstellar fanboy wishlist is a sequel, just to tell the story of Cooper's
journey back to Brand and to see what life is like on this new planet. Interstellar,
unlike Nolan's other films, hints at a story in the future, but leaves the viewer to fill
in the gaps. It just seems cruel to me that the last scene is sending Cooper on a journey
that we'll never get to experience."
Others hope that Interstellar 2 never happens.
"No! No! No!"
One fan posted on Reddit:
"I feel a sequel would ruin the first film tremendously."
As is one of his signatures, Nolan tied up Interstellar in the exact way he wanted to
with a happier ending that wasn't all doom and gloom, as the original script he wrote
with Jonathan Nolan was. It stands to reason that, when it comes to possibly making Interstellar
2, if Nolan wants to do it, he will. For right now, it looks like a sequel is nothing more
than a hypothetical though Nolan might end up surprising us and taking a stab at a second
movie, provided he actually has more to say about humanity, love, and space.
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