Because of the way studios make movies these days, director Morten Tyldum's Passengers is a weirdly special film. It's the rare modern blockbuster that's given a decent budget, but isn't based on pre-existing material and isn't built to get a sequel. It's especially a different film for stars Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence - who recently told me that it was an experience that had an impact and was important to them.
I sat down with the two Passengers stars earlier this month at the film's Los Angeles press day, and before getting on to the subject of the movie's vague trailers, I asked them about the experience of making a feature on such a big scale with a legitimately definitive ending. Jennifer Lawrence explained that it didn't really change the way she looked at her character, Aurora, but that it did leave her with a unique feeling after production wrapped:
It didn't have an effect on the way I prepared for the part, but it is refreshing -- it's nice. It's really rare to find original content in a studio movie, that doesn't have a proven audience -- that has such a big budget. So it still feels weird that we just kind of closed the case on it. Because I've never been on such a big movie where the end is the end.
Following up, Chris Pratt noted that the fact that Passengers wouldn't be getting a sequel was something he thought was absolutely crucial to the film -- telling me that he had conversations with Morten Tyldum about making sure the ending remained the same.
Yeah, I loved the idea of that. That was really something that was important to me. I think maybe I even mentioned that the Morten in the beginning. I was like, 'Listen, this has to be as it is, right? You're not going to switch it at the end and open it up for a sequel because it could be wildly successful or whatever.' No. This is an entirely complete story.
You can watch Jennifer Lawrence and Chris Pratt talk about their appreciation for Passengers being a one-and-done blockbuster feature by clicking play on the video below!
To go into any more detail about why Passengers won't have a sequel would be saying far too much about the ending of the film -- but be sure to stay tuned here on Cinema Blend for more follow-ups on this subject!
Passengers is arriving in theaters this Wednesday, December 21st, and stay tuned for more from my interviews with the film's stars and director!
