With a budget of just $16 million, and a stylish and immediately alluring cinematic aesthetic, it is not hard to imagine more Superfly films on the horizon.
It also helps that its leading trio of Trevor Jackson, Lex Scott Davis and Jason Mitchell are so inherently watchable, as well as young, and there are clearly many more stories left to tell in the adventures of Youngblood Priest.
Especially as the 1972 original was followed by a 1973 sequel and then a 1990 follow-up, too.
Then there’s “Superfly’s” producer Joel Silver, who helped to oversee and expand “The Matrix,” “Lethal Weapon” and “Die Hard” franchises. So, obviously, he knows quite a lot about sequels.
During my recent chat with Silver I asked whether there were any immediate plans for a “Superfly” follow-up, and while he wouldn’t rule one out he simultaneously provided some vital insight behind the success of his previous franchises.
“We all dream of franchise building. I have had a good run at those things. I wouldn’t mind thinking of franchise building. But I always say, ‘Let’s make the first one and make sure it works.’ If this one works and it does stuff then our reward would be to make another one.”
“I’m not looking, at this point I made all of those movies as one-offs.Yeah, we made ‘The Matrix’ and planned on having a serial story, but the first one has to work before you start making the next one.”
“Peter Jackson is the only smart enough guy to make all 3 at once. But I am hopeful we can kind of come back here at some point and revisit it. But we have to see what happens. If people like the movie and they go see it and they enjoy it then we’ll see where it goes.”
Unfortunately, despite its numerous positives, “Superfly’s” $9 million gross over its opening few days mean that the chances of a follow-up are currently very, very remote.
