“War Machine” is coming back for more.
The first film, co-written and directed by Australian filmmaker Patrick Hughes and starring Alan Ritchson as a hardened Army Ranger trainee who goes up against an intergalactic force, just hit a major milestone. “War Machine” has entered Netflix’s Most Popular Films List, with 139 million views since it debuted on March 6.
It makes sense that a sequel to the film, which was co-produced by Lionsgate, would be on the way, right? Especially because, by the end of the movie, the suggestion that the world of “War Machine” is much, much larger has been introduced.
Todd Lieberman, Greg McLean, Alex Young and Rich Cook produced the first film.
We talked to Hughes a few weeks ago and wondered if the robotic marauders seen in the first movie were the aliens themselves or if there was something piloting them (or perhaps controlling them from a home world).
Hughes assured us in the sequel, “you are going to find out.”
“This was the hardest thing, and God bless Netflix, because there was some internal back-and-forth and some creative conversations [about the ambiguity of the ending]. I really love those old school films you used to see in the ‘70s and ‘80s where it was like, Dude you left me hanging. What?” Hughes said about the ending of the first movie, which both he and Netflix agreed upon. “I said to Netflix, ‘I think more than anything, people want to know – What is [Ritchson’s] name? Where are they from? What do they want? What is happening? Because that micro to the macro, I think, is really interesting, because audiences get so attuned to going, Okay, everything’s resolved in one movie. And I was like let’s treat this like what it is, which is fucking shock-and-awe.”
Hughes continued: “And do we really think in the first 24 hours of us being hit by these, we’re going to know where they’re from, what they want and how to overcome them? No. This is like, just shock-and-awe. But I did, I did genuinely make it and wrote it as a standalone. I was like, that’s cool as fuck, as if you did one-and-done, and just like, Damn, I’m out. Here’s ‘War Machine.’”
And while no cast for the sequel has been confirmed, there’s a very good chance that Ritchson will return. He and Hughes have already filmed another together (for Amazon) and they have matching tattoos – of the “War Machine” logo Hughes designed. It was Hughes’ first tattoo. “I never thought I’d get a tattoo. He’s covered in him. I don’t have him. We’ve got ‘War Machine’ now,” said Hughes.
Hughes also said the intention was to start on the movie sooner rather than later. (Earlier in the conversation he said everyone was “heads down and getting busy on the sequel.”)
“Keep the good times rolling. I’m pinching myself every day. If you’d gone back to me and told me that when I was at film school, I’d be sitting in this opportunity where it’s like this universe you’ve set up and it’s off to the races, and had a mass appeal, and people are begging for a sequel,” Hughes said. “This is very, very exciting. I can’t go into any details, but I know when I wrote it was just, they had it all mapped out – what I would do, touch wood, if they did give me the opportunity. It’s expanding that world but at the same time it’s not doing what’s expected.”
Before he told me too many details, he cut himself off.
“I’ve got an absolute banger. I’m excited. It’s fucking big,” Hughes promised.
“War Machine” is streaming on Netflix now.
