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Road To Perdition 2 & 3? What Happened To The Sequel Movies
Two Road to Perdition sequels were supposed to happen, thus completing the Road to Perdition trilogy, but they never released - why? Road to Perdition 2 and Road to Perdition 3 would've followed up on Sam Mendes' first movie, which was based on the comics of the same name by Max Allan Collins. The original Road to Perdition followed Michael Sullivan Jr. (Tyler Hoechlin), a young boy growing up in Illinois who looked up to his father, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks). One night, Michael Sullivan Jr. discovered that his dad worked as a mob enforcer for John Rooney (Paul Newman). Sullivan Jr., who stumbled onto the truth, unleashed a series of grisly events that sent the father and son on the run to avoid the wrath of Rooney and his accomplices.
Despite facing heavy competition from blockbuster titles in its July 2002 release date, Road to Perdition ended up grossing a solid $181 million worldwide. It also garnered a positive critical reception and scored six Oscar nominations (including a win for Best Cinematography). All of these achievements have ensured that Road to Perdition has managed to endure over the last 18 years. Given the movie's longevity, as well as the fact that its source material spawned sequels, it's easy to see why two Road to Perdition sequels were commissioned by the studio. But what happened to them?
It was first announced in 2008 that two Road to Perdition sequels were being developed, but there's been little to no movement regarding those films in the past decade. This can be chalked up to a multitude of reasons, including the difficulty of marketing these sequels as well the schedule of Road to Perdition director Sam Mendes. One particular issue facing the Road to Perdition sequels is the stories they'd be adapting. A report from Slashfilm in 2010 indicated that these two sequels would follow the storylines of the two follow-ups to the original Road to Perdition comic book. The first of these stories, Road to Purgatory, concerned a grown-up version of Michael Sullivan Jr. becoming once again embroiled in the world of organized crime as part of a scheme to avenge his father's death. The second sequel, Return to Perdition, would make yet another time jump in following the crime world exploits of Michael Sullivan Jr.'s son in the 1970s.
Film adaptations of these stories would have deviated greatly from typical Hollywood sequels. Each of Road to Perdition's prospective sequels would feature new casts and time periods. As seen by titles like The Hangover: Part II, Hollywood tends to prefer a familiar formula when it comes to sequels. Thus, getting studios to invest money in such different Road to Perdition sequels proved an insurmountable hurdle, especially without actors like Tom Hanks and Paul Newman to back up the story. Furthermore, Road to Perdition's middle-of-the-road box office also likely instilled doubt in the minds of studio executives that audiences would show up for further Michael Sullivan Jr. adventures.
Of course, the reason the Road to Perdition sequels never happened may not have had anything to do with the stories or the actors but rather the studio itself. DreamWorks was one of many studios that struggled in the late 2000s, and after a string of misses with movies like I Am Number Four and Cowboys & Aliens, they ultimately took a step back from producing so many films. This likely meant that in-development projects like Road to Perdition 2 were canned in favor of making big-budget projects with other studios. In the end, if Road to Perdition 2 were to happen, it should've been made in the early 2000s.
