Fede Alvarez has revealed what it would take for him to direct a follow-up to The Girl In The Spider’s Web, while also explaining exactly why sequels are so important, calling them the modern equivalent of a camp fire stories.
Regarding his interest in overseeing a potential “The Girl In The Spider’s Web 2,” Alvarez responded, “If there is a great script and something else to say about her and makes the need for a new story right away I am game.”
But when I asked Alvarez whether a sequel to “The Girl In The Spider’s Web” had already been discussed he went a lot deeper, responding, “I guess that, sure, for the studio if people show up to this film they will show more stories, just from a purely studio perspective.”
“But, for me as a filmmaker, the most interesting part about telling more stories about is that you really want to keep these characters alive. Sometimes you take characters for granted. ‘We saw them once. We loved it. We don’t need anything else.’”
“But they do die with time and they do disappear. To give them a life in pop culture you need to keep telling stories about them.”
“Otherwise a generation goes by, a new generation comes and they’ve never heard of those characters and don’t know, and then it becomes that old man thing and we’re like, ‘Oh you don’t know about this person? They’re great in this movie for a million years ago.’”
“So we have to keep telling new stories and new chapters are always revenant. And if done right they make sure that they don’t disappear.”
“‘Evil Dead’ is a great example of that. A lot of people complained about it when it was announced and when it was made. But if that movie hadn’t been made then there would have been no show, you’d have never seen Ash again, that was all down to the success of the film.”
“That really brought it back to life, and it made people re-watch the original films. There is a new generation of moviegoers and students that fall in love with ‘Evil Dead’ because of the show and my film.”
“That cycle is great. It is something that Hollywood has been doing since it existed. They used to remake movies 5 years after they existed in the 50s. I think it is important. It is like a new version of the fire camp tales for all of humanity.”
“It is way bigger than people think it is. It is a tale that people keep telling each other and keep sharing. In the case of this it is about Elizabeth Salander.”
“That icon, that myth, there is something very powerful about her that has helped to make the books so successful, because are just so fascinated by her. It is hard to know exactly what is so magical about her. And we need to keep telling her stories.”
Alvarez is more than accustomed to his films generating sequel interest, as follow-ups to both “Evil Dead” and “Don’t Breathe” are in various stages of development.
But while the director is obviously flattered, he admits to feeling conflicted about actually overseeing a sequel to these films.
“People want to see sequels to my films. I have been in the very lucky position of being able to do those if I wanted to, because they have been successful at the box office. But it is rare to have the ability to make those. I am always anxious, though.”
“I want to go to a new world and explore different characters. Going back to the same place, for the audience it is two hours, for me it is 2 years, because I am the writer and director.”
“You spend a lot of time in that world. And, for me, to learn and make better movies I have to keep moving and changing from world to world.”
“There’s no greater feeling than knowing people want a sequel. For me it only takes two people. If there are two people that want a sequel then it already makes my day.”
“It is so hard to make a story and film that connects with people. So when I read something on my Twitter that they would love to see more of a particular world that has been brought to screen then that is great.”
“The Girl In The Spider’s Web” is now in cinemas.
