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Chronicle Director Purposefully Sabotaged Sequel
Director Josh Trank says he purposefully sabotaged the sequel to Chronicle, admitting it is partially his fault the 2012 film never received a follow-up. Chronicle is a sci-fi thriller that follows three teenagers who become unlikely friends after an accident leaves them with telekinetic abilities. However, as their powers grow, their relationship becomes more strained, and they become more dangerous.
The film stars Dane DeHaan, Alex Russell, and Micheal B. Jordan. Chronicle was a financial hit, grossing $126 million on a $12 million budget. The film was also a critical success, much of which was centered around the exceptional performances by the young and then relatively unknown cast. A Chronicle sequel seemed like a no-brainer after the success of the first movie. Fans wanted to know what happened after the events of the story, or address what gave the characters their powers and if anyone else shares their abilities.
However, director Josh Trank has revealed he actively tried to sabotage the sequel to prevent it from ever being made. In an interview with Polygon, Trank says he did things to delay the movie's development. "I made it difficult for them to set up meetings. I was dodgy about stuff. I did a lot of sh***y things." Trank also explained many of his issues came from the script.
Fox had brought in Max Landis, who wrote the screenplay for the first film, to write the script for the sequel. It would follow a girl obsessed with the surviving character from the first movie and decides to build her own "Iron Man" suit. Trank thought that the premise didn't fit the reasons why he wanted to do the first film, but the sequel was still put in development. Trank knew he didn't want to do the sequel, and therefore didn't want the movie to be made. He thought if someone else ended up directing the film, it was "gonna be a piece of sh*t," saying, "I really didn’t ever want to see Chronicle 2 happen. That was my worst nightmare." Max Landis has since been accused of emotional or sexual abuse by several different women.
Josh Trank has had it rough in Hollywood for the past few years. He directed the 2015 critical and box-office bomb The Fantastic Four, a film that he infamously panned before its release. He took to Twitter to say that he had a better version of the film a year earlier, but it was likely no one would ever see it. That, followed by stories of behind-the scenes drama, hurt his reputation in Hollywood and was taken out of consideration for major projects. Trank has since accepted The Fantastic Four as a part of his career, even publishing his own review of the film. Trank has returned to directing, with the biopic Capone starring Tom Hardy set to release on video-on-demand on May 12th. As Chronicle proves Trank's talent as a director, hopefully he can bounce back and continue to leave his mark on the film industry.
