The old saying “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” springs to mind when contemplating the upcoming, unnecessary sci-fi follow-up, Beyond Skyline. The original romp, Skyline, somehow circumnavigated a straight-to-video release and wound up taking a decent box office haul when it hit theatres in 2010. Produced for a meagre $10 million, its theatrical stint raked in $66 million worldwide. Needless to say, a sequel went into development earlier this year and has now bagged Frank Grillo as its leading man.
Off the back of his starring role in The Purge: Anarchy and his involvement in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Grillo has forged a reputation for solid action turns. For Beyond Skyline, returning writer Liam O’Donnell – who’ll make his directorial debut on the movie – has clearly recognized Grillo’s domineering presence. In fact, he claims to have penned the role with the actor in mind, stating that he wanted somehow to embody a “throw-back action hero battling his inner demons while outwardly kicking ass.”
Thus far the only person signed on to appear in front of the camera, Grillo is slated to take the lead. In what sounds like another alien invasion, he’ll play “a detective who fights to free his son from a terrifying alien warship.” Not a million miles away from the first outing, which had a good premise but suffered from poor execution. Still, there seems to be some hope, at least according to the actor himself:
“I’m excited to create something fresh and visually stunning with this film,” Grillo said. “Liam has assembled a great cast and intense script.”
Last month, Latino Review offered up the same name from a reputable source, and today’s exclusive comes from Variety, which corroborated their intel. It’s practically the same exact information, which also includes the form of the second Skyline movie. LR initially said that it would not be a direct follow-up, but more of a parallel-sequel – which Variety has also confirmed, claiming it will be a standalone movie.
Sequel, spinoff, standalone, does the form of Beyond Skyline matter? Will you be lining up to see it? As usual folks, let us know your thoughts on Frank Grillo’s casting in the comments below.
