5 Forgotten Sequels That Should Be Comics

It was revealed that zombie aficionado George Romero is going to be working on a new zombie story called Empire of the Dead that will be released by Marvel Comics. Although he was pretty vague at the New York Comic-Con, it seemed to be related to the idea in Land of the Dead that zombie’s will keep evolving, and their might be a new creepy, bitey race of creatures for humans to worry about. This kind of reminds me of the proposed Freddy vs Jason sequel that would pit the two horror movie behemoths against Ash, Bruce Campbell’s lovably sarcastic hero from the Evil Dead series. That story ended up going straight to comics because it couldn’t get financed and logistically would probably be a nightmare. And that wasn’t the last time since some movie ideas went to comic form first to try to sneak through a side door into film production. Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky has done it twice (The Fountain and his upcoming Noah). So, I compiled a list of a few movies that were going to be but then never would that should try to get a life in comic form.

Escape from Earth

Escape from Earth was a tentative title for a third Snake Plissken movie,the first two having him escape New York and Los Angeles. Kurt Russell may be getting on in years, but I think he still has enough pep in his step to take on the assignment. John Carpenter has been in hiding it lately. Not sure if that is because he’s lost it or the business just doesn’t care about him anymore, both of which make me equally sad. Anyways, spoilers for an old movie, Escape from LA ended with Plissken turning on an EMP doomsday device wiping out electronics all across the world. There is no confirmed details other than the title seriously upping the ante, but it brings to mind a one-eyed Kurt Russell in a post-apocalypse Road Warrior world. The idea that he is now some gunslinger on horseback roaming an Earth sent back to the Old West while a bunch of people were trying to escape to some swanky Elysium space station gets me all excited.

The Vega Brothers

The thing about Quentin Tarantino movies (one of many things actually) is that some of the characters share last names in an attempt by QT to have them be related. Meaning, all of these movies are happening in the same canon. In the same pocket universe, which has its own internet theory floating around if you feel like googling it. Two of these related characters came from his very first movies. In Reservoir Dogs, Michael Madsen plays Vic Vega, aka Mr. Blonde, the quiet but deadly Joe Cabot loyalist who should be thanked one of the more memorable torture scenes in cinema history. His brother is Vincent Vega, played by John Travolta, a heroin addicted hitman from Pulp Fiction. Spoiler: they both meet their ends in their respective movies, but QT wanted to team them up in a prequel. There was a problem, though. QT didn’t do it quick enough, and Travolta and Madsen got old. Oops! QT once had the idea to make a sequel where both Vic and Vincent had twins who Travolta and Madsen would play, a little too ridiculous. QT, a comic fan himself, should put these guys on the page.

Gladiator: Christ Killer

So Russel Crowe wanted to make a sequel to Gladiator. Gladiator is definitely one of those one in a million movies that has blockbuster elements mixed with real dramatic depth. It would seem to cheapen it to make a sequel especially because SPOILER Crowe’s Maximus dies in the end. Well, Crowe and director Ridley Scott commissioned rock star and, at the time, newbie screenwriter Nick Cave to come up with an idea. Basically, on his way to Elysium (the Greek mythology version of Valhalla), Maximus is tricked by the old gods, who are dying because Christ is taking all of there worshipers, into going through different trials and sent back to Earth to take out Christ. It would end with a 20 minute war montage of Maximus as some kind of eternal warrior fighting in every war in history leading to Vietnam. Not sure American audiences are ready for that, but DAMN! I want to see that!

Roger Rabbit: Toon Platoon

It is rumored that Stephen Spielberg nixed this flick because of Schindler’s List. Being Jewish, he had a religious re-awakening, and he no longer wanted to see Nazis as comical bad guys in adventure movies (which is why we also didn’t see another Indiana Jones movie for so long). Toon Platoon, also known as Who Discovered Roger Rabbit?, involved Roger with a bunch of other cartoons enlisted into WWII thinking they would be a great frontline soldiers since you can’t kill a toon. This would disrupt Roger’s attempts at comedy fame, but he would also meet his lovely wife Jessica. I have read some conflicting script reviews about Jessica’s appearance. One said she was gorgeous and asked to seduce Nazis as some American femme fatale while the other said she was an obese woman with a lovely voice making her great for radio. All the soldiers were drooling over the hottie in the posters, while the rotund Jessica was stuck in some studio until found by Roger. Either way, I just want more Roger Rabbit.

Mathilda: The Professional

The Mathilda I am talking about here is Natalie Portman’s character from Leon: The Professional (or whatever combination of those names you know this by). Of course, in the end, Mathilda was spared and saved now in an orphanage with a better life on the horizon or so we hope. Portman hinted that there was a possibility of revisiting the character who took up the hitman business when she reached adulthood.  I have no idea where the story would go, but I think it would be pretty cool to see Mathilda do something. Supposedly, the Zoe Saldana vehicle, Colombiana, written and produced by Luc Besson, was originally developed as a Mathilda story.