A controversial Kevin Costner movie, considered a major disappointment at the time is apparently getting a sequel with the star returning
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In terms of Kevin Costner movies that we thought would ever get a sequel, I’m not sure this latest news would have been that high up the list. But in a world where all that is old is new again, it makes some sense that we’d head back to a planet completely overcome with water. According to MovieWeb (via Collider), it looks like Waterworld is getting a sequel, in series form, and there are some bigger names attached including Costner and other folks from the original movie.
In an interview with Collider, producer John Davis discussed the plans to bring Kevin Costner and others back for a Waterworld sequel. He said that the new production will be 20 years after the events of the first movie and would include members of the original cast. This would put Costner in line to reprise his role. He didn’t mention Costner by name but alluded to the idea that this was going to be the crux of the story.
While Kevin Costner isn’t officially on board, Davis did mention that Dan Trachtenberg had committed to direct the film follow-up. Trachtenberg made his first mark on the industry with 10 Cloverfield Lane, the spiritual successor and incredibly tense follow-up to Cloverfield. His next project, prior to any new Waterworld production is with Skull, a predator prequel movie. That is looking to be an origin story of sorts for this character, detailing how the hell it landed on Earth in the first place.
Meanwhile, Waterworld originally came out in 1995 and, at the time, was a highly-anticipated big-budget film. Set in 2500, in a world where oceans had risen to extraordinary levels and wiped out (almost) all land, it is a dystopian future in which gangs roam the seas looking to maintain every bit of fresh water and bits of soil still available. It had a Mad Max on the high seas feel to it for sure. Kevin Costner played The Mariner, a guy who in the years following this disaster had adapted to the new world and actually had gills for breathing underwater.
The rest of the original Waterworld is equal parts human mythology and jet ski fight, with Dennis Hopper playing The Deacon, a maniacal leader of a group of bandits who raid the last vestiges of civilization who live in driving communities. Kevin Costner and his crew meanwhile are in search of the last piece of dry land out there, if it even exists at all. Waterworld, at the time, was the most expensive film ever made, costing the studio somewhere in the range of $175 million.
But the Kevin Costner big-budget movie didn’t totally land with critics. Sitting at 47% on Rotten Tomatoes and making back *only* $264 million at the box office, the flick was seen as a major disappointment at the time. It was looked at like the trouble with excess in film, taking a cool concept and going overboard with the entire production.
It will be interesting to see if Kevin Costner and some others return for a Waterworld sequel. In terms of story, it is an interesting one to explore, one even more relevant today than a couple of decades ago. And it could be a chance to right some of the wrongs of that original film.
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