‘Plane’ sequel ‘Ship’ announced
Mike Colter reprises his role from the action thriller starring Gerard Butler.
After “Sík” opened in cinemas this January, a sequel is already on the high seas. “Ship,” the sequel to the Gerard Butler thriller, is slated to begin production later this year. Species reports.
As the title suggests, “Ship” is set on a ship and focuses on Mike Colter’s character in the original “Plane,” fugitive and murder suspect Louis Gaspare. It’s unclear if Butler, who helmed “Plane” as Brodie Torrance’s commercial pilot, will return to the project, either in a supporting or cameo role, but original director Jean-François Richet will return as an executive producer.
In the original ‘plane’, Gaspare was one of the passengers on Flight 119, a routine international flight that ended in disaster after a storm caused extensive aircraft damage, forcing Torrance to land in the rebel-held Philippines, Jojo on an island. In the film, the two men teamed up to rescue the flight’s crew and passengers after they were kidnapped by warlord Datu Junmar (Evan Dane Taylor), and Gaspare stayed on the island to let Torrance escape before disappearing into the wilderness. .
“Ship” picks up right where the first movie left off, with Gaspare piloting a fishing boat to escape the Philippines. Now the subject of an international manhunt after the media attention generated by Flight 119, Gaspare boards a cargo ship bound for South Africa, only to discover that it is also acting as a ferry for a human-trafficking ring. Along with the ship’s second officer and a passenger with military experience, Gaspare embarks on a mission to take down the ship’s captain and free the prisoners. Presumably, it will also act as the third film in the franchise, “Train”.
“Plane” producers MadRiver Pictures, Di Bonaventura Pictures and G-BASE Productions will all serve as “Ship” studios. CAA Media Finance is handling the film’s domestic rights, and The Veterans is shopping the film’s international rights at the European Film Market, which is scheduled to open Thursday alongside the Berlin Film Festival. The director and writer of the sequel have not yet been announced.
Lionsgate distributed the original “Planet,” which has grossed $43 million worldwide since opening Jan. 13 on a $25 million budget. The film received relatively positive reviews upon release; IndieWire’s senior film critic David Ehrlich called the thriller “hardy, weathered, and no frills.”
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