‘Edge of Tomorrow 2’ Back in Development, Warner Bros. Still Hopeful for ‘Mad Max’ Sequel

Warner Bros. is officially moving forward with a sequel to Doug Liman’s “Edge of Tomorrow.” A follow-up to the Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt-starring time travel action movie has been talked about by fans and the creative team since the film’s release in summer 2014, and now it appears the sequel is finally taking shape at Warner Bros.

As confirmed by Deadline, Warner Bros. has hired “The Invention of Lying” co-director and co-writer Matthew Robinson to pen the screenplay after falling in love with his pitch for the sequel. At this point, neither Cruise nor Blunt are attached, and the same goes for Liman, but the intention is to bring back all three for the next film. According to Deadline, “The stars won’t make deals until they see a script to their liking, but they are all in the loop and Liman will develop it with the writer.” Blunt told IndieWire last year she is game for a sequel but originally had to pass because of “Mary Poppins Returns.”

“It’s a lot for all the stars to align for everyone to be free at the same time and available to do it at the same time,” Blunt said. “They asked me to do [it] two months before I started ‘Mary Poppins.’ Tom was like, ‘Can you go this autumn?’ and I was like, ‘No, I can’t go, I’m playing Mary Poppins for like a year, dude! I can’t do ‘Edge of Tomorrow.’”

While Blunt had to pass at the time, she did tease, “Doug Liman has got an awesome idea and he’s excited and they just need to write it. There has been a script, but now I gather there’s another one in the works.”

A sequel to “Edge of Tomorrow” as been percolating at Warner Bros. for some time. The studio set writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse to pen a screenplay for the sequel in 2016 but it ended up being stalled. With Warner Bros. bringing Robinson on board, the sequel is officially in development again.

“Edge of Tomorrow” starred Cruise as a public relations officer for the army who is forced into combat in a growing war between humans and a group of aliens called Mimics. After being infected by Mimic blood, Cruise’s character finds himself reliving the same day every time he dies. The time reset gives humanity one last chance at victory over the Mimics. Blunt starred as military leader Rita Vrataski.

As the “Edge of Tomorrow” sequel takes shape, one sequel that isn’t confirmed to be in development but that is still potentially in the offing is a “Mad Max: Fury Road” follow-up. In a recent interview with the Los Angeles Times, Warner Bros. CEO Kevin Tsujihara named “Mad Max” as a franchise the studio is very much hoping continues.

“We have incredible franchises on the features side such as ‘The Matrix,’” Tsujihara said. “We’d love to work with George Miller on furthering the ‘Mad Max’ franchise. … We need to invest and build those franchises up. We think that, despite their age, they still maintain a special place in kids’ hearts.”

Tsujihara’s “Mad Max” detail is extremely brief, but it is reassuring nonetheless. A “Mad Max” sequel has not moved forward because of a lawsuit battle between Warner Bros. and Miller’s production company, Kennedy Miller Mitchell. The company has accused Warner Bros. of refusing to pay a bonus fee for delivering “Fury Road” under budget. Warner Bros. filed a cross-lawsuit saying the production company broke contract over the film’s intended runtime and rating. If Tsujihara remains hopeful for the future of “Mad Max,” perhaps the warring sides are slowly coming to an agreement.

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