As he makes the rounds in the States to promote his latest, the Robert Pattinson-headlined Cosmopolis, David Cronenberg is spending his time chatting with the press. And he’s just dropped a disappointing nugget about what had been reported as his next project: Focus Features has apparently decided not to press ahead with Eastern Promises 2.
While there has not been an official statement to that effect (and there wouldn’t likely be anyway), Cronenberg offered up the news to the gang at The Playlist. When asked what he was getting set to make next, the director replied, bluntly, “it was supposed to be Eastern Promises 2. But that's dead."
So what happened? "We were supposed to start shooting it in October," Cronenberg elaborates. “But it's done... If you don't like it, talk to James Schamus at Focus. It was his decision."
Though he doesn’t explain further, it would appear that financial worries might have been the main motivating factor for the studio’s skittishness, especially since it seemed to be going ahead fairly smoothly. Promises writer Steven Knight had written the sequel’s script and both Viggo Mortensen and Vincent Cassel seemed set to return.
There’s still a chance minds could be changed or some other company could be convinced to stump up the cash, but for now it seems as though Cronenberg and co are headed back to limbo with this one.