Are you ready for a Longlegs cinematic universe? Because whether you want it or not, one seems to be on the way, with THR breaking the surprise news that director Osgood Perkins and Nicolas Cage will be reteaming for a follow-up. Perkins will write, direct, and produce, while Cage will star. Perhaps the biggest surprise of all, though, is that Neon, who distributed the original film (and helped it become the highest-grossing independent film of the last decade), will not be releasing it. Rather, the rights have been acquired by Paramount Pictures.
According to a Paramount press release, the film will not be a sequel but will be set in the Longlegs universe. I suppose only a prequel would make sense, with Cage’s character memorably killing himself at one point in the film by smashing his head over and over into an interrogation table.
I was a major fan of Longlegs, but I’m not sure how I feel about this. Part of what made Longlegs work was the mystery of Cage’s character. A prequel will explain away what is supposed to be unexplainable. They are doing the same thing with the upcoming Weapons Aunt Gladys prequel. Do these characters need spin-off movies, especially when we know their ultimate fate? Instead of a Longlegs prequel, it would be much cooler if Perkins and Cage simply teamed on another project, with Perkins clearly a talent on the rise, with The Monkey having been solid, Keeper having its fans, and his next movie, The Young People, having solid buzz. It’s also strange Perkins will be moving on from Neon considering how successful their collaborations have been, but Paramount has been ramping up their horror production slate, so it’s not a surprise they are trying to recruit hot genre voices.
What do you think of this unexpected Longlegs news? Let us know in the comments.
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