More than a decade has passed since the release of Chronicle, a film that bucked the Marvel/DC trend by presenting a grounded take on the superhero origin story. The talent to emerge from it was substantial, too, such as Michael B. Jordan, Dane DeHaan, director Josh Trank, and (unfortunately) screenwriter Max Landis. Talk of a sequel went on for years with nothing happening, partially due to interference run by Trank himself, but now a follow-up is happening and it promises to be very different.
The news comes from chatty Jungle Cruise producer John Davis in a conversation with Forbes. Apparently, Davis really dug all the buzz he’s gotten for dropping info on Predator 5 and a Waterworld series. He says that Chronicle 2 is indeed happening, it will be set a decade after the first movie’s events, and will center on female students who gain superpowers…
“We’re working on ‘Chronicle 2’ right now, and I think it’s going to be great. We’re working on it at Fox (20th Century Studios). It’s going to give us a chance to tell the story in a different way. We’re going to tell it from the female point of view. It will have been ten years since the event happened in Seattle, and a lot of it’s going to deal with fake news and real news and cover-ups. More interestingly, it’s the next generation getting these powers that are corruptive. These are young women just finishing college, they are empowered, and this is their journey. I mean, what a new and interesting story you can tell there.”
I mean, yeah, you could, but it really does depend on the screenwriter and director, doesn’t it? This wouldn’t be the first movie to deal with super-powered women, just go and watch Fast Color for a really great example how to do it right.
Obviously, Landis won’t have anything to do with this, and Trank is off doing whatever right now so his return is doubtful. Davis doesn’t offer any info on creatives, and honestly I’m doubtful this movie actually happens. At least not as a Chronicle sequel, anyway. As critically-acclaimed as it was, and also quite a box office success, there isn’t much clamor for another. We’ll see.