While the original Labyrinth wasn't a huge hit, it's become so popular in the ensuing years that calling it a cult classic doesn't seem accurate. It's a legitimately popular and well-loved film. As such, one can be sure that people are very interested in the follow-up movie that was announced a couple of years ago. While things have been largely quiet of late, director Fede Alvarez recently confirmed the project is ongoing. There's even a completed script for the new movie. According to Alvarez...
I was actually having lunch yesterday with Lisa Henson and we reconnected with that project. We're very excited about it. It is basically a direct continuation of the first movie many years later, and I can't tell you much more about it... but we have a script, and we're very excited about it so we'll see where that goes. Like always, it takes time and effort to put those movies together because they're larger than life. But that's one of the projects that I'm very excited about.
Fede Alvarez has been busy working on the upcoming The Girl in the Spider's Web and it sounds like he himself hasn't had the new Labyrinth movie at the forefront of his mind, but that may be about to change. While we knew Guardians of the Galaxy scribe Nicole Perlman was working on a script this is the first we've heard there's a completed draft though, that doesn't mean they have a final script ready to go.
The other thing that Fede Alvarez confirms to Fandango is that the new movie will be a direct sequel to the original film. Originally the rumor about the new Labyrinth movie was that it was to be a remake. Then came word that it would not reboot the franchise, but it still wasn't clear if the new film would simply be set in the same world or actually be connected to the original film. It seems that it will be.
It's been more than three decades since the original Labyrinth was something of a box office disappointment. Jim Henson was best known for the Muppets and while the movie used the same puppetry techniques, it was a much more mature and serious story. However, as new generations have found the film, it has only grown in popularity. David Bowie's iconic performance as the Goblin King is only one of the reasons.
The fact that Alvarez says "we'll see where that goes" makes it sound like this project isn't quite a sure thing yet, but it is something people are trying to make happen. Even Alvarez admits that right now he's still focused on his current film, and whether the new Labyrinth movie will be his next project or not remains to be seen.
You never know, and really right now, I'm just finishing with this film so I'm not even thinking about what I'm going to do next. But all I can tell you is that I had lunch with her yesterday and it was great.
Could we see a grown-up Toby going back to the world where he was once nearly lost? Will Jennifer Connelly be back as Sarah? We'll have to wait and see what this Henson fantasy world looks like after so many years. I'm cautiously optimistic.
