‘Lord of War’ Sequel Official With Nicholas Cage and Bill Skarsgård
A sequel to the 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, now titled Lords of War, is the latest to come out of the Cannes market, with FilmNation Entertainment organizing the sale for the international rights and CAA Media Finance for the US rights, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The sequel will bring back Nicholas Cage as arms dealer Yuri Orlov, with Bill Skarsgård stepping in as his son, Anton, who is trying to surpass his father’s criminal activities launching a mercenary army to fight in the Middle East. Andrew Niccol, who wrote and directed the first movie, is back for the sequel as well. No other word on additional cast members returning; the ensemble of the first film also included Jared Leto and Ethan Hawke.
Said Niccol in a statement:
“There is so much more to explore with these characters. Plato said it best — ‘Only the dead have seen the end of war.’ I’m looking forward to spending more time in the company of the charming devil that is Yuri Orlov and now his illegitimate son – who turns out to not be legitimate in any way.”
Filming is supposed to start in the fall. Cage is producing via his Saturn Films company, and Skarsgård is executive producing. Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are also producing via Vendôme Pictures. Said Rousselet in a statement:
“The ‘Lord of War’ world has no shortage of ammunition in the possibilities of stories we can tell, and we are very excited to tell yet another one that follows Yuri and Anton’s dangerous journey.”
Lord of War opened in 2005 and grossed $72M worldwide on a $40-50M budget, but it survived the test of time due to its underlying message, more relevant than ever given recent events. Amnesty International endorsed it back in the day for highlighting issues of illegal arms trafficking.
Cage was most recently seen in Renfield, and earlier this year, in The Old Way. He earned rave reviews for his performance in the critically-acclaimed Pig, by Michael Sarnoski. Skarsgård recently played the villain in John Wick: Chapter 4 and is currently shooting Nosferatu for Robert Eggers. He is also rumored to be returning as Pennywise for the Max series Welcome to Derry, though the actor has said it’s not happening.
No release date has been set.
Miguel Fernández is a Spanish student that has movies as his second passion in life. His favorite movie of all time is The Lord of the Rings, but he is also a huge Star Wars fan. However, fantasy movies are not his only cup of tea, as authors like Scorsese, Fincher, Kubrick or Hitchcock have been an obsession for him since he started to understand the language of filmmaking. He is that guy who will watch a black and white movie, just because it is in black and white.
