Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters producer Adam McKay seems to be pretty excited about the prospects of a sequel to the underwhelming action-horror flick that was released back in January. Directed by Tommy Wrikola, the film did gross a very respectable $225 million worldwide (a solid box office take for an R-rated film) but with critics, it didn’t fare as well. It received mostly negative reviews and while I personally thought it was mediocre, I don’t have much interest in a sequel.
Apparently, McKay does not share that sentiment as in an interview with Movieweb, he said the following:
“I’m really excited about the second one. Because he [Wirkola] didn’t steer the behemoth off the road on the first one,” says McKay. “You are going to get to see even more slack on his leash with the second one. He is really going to get to roam free on this. I’ve already started to hear some of the ideas he is working on, and its pretty insane. This could be one of those instances where the sequel does go further than the first one.
“The funny thing is…I think Paramount regrets it,” McKay continues referencing the film’s R-rating. “I think they are worried that they left some money on the table with that one. There is some discussion about how we’re gong to handle that with the second one…”
McKay’s statements are kind of funny. He’s claiming that Wrikola will “roam free” on the film and that it’s going to be “pretty insane.” He further claims that the sequel will go “further” than its predecessor. The funny thing is though, he’s claiming all of this yet at the same time, stating that the film will likely be PG-13, or at least he’s hinting it.
Part of the fun of Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters was the R-rated gore and violence. Removing that in favor of a PG-13 rating would hurt the film a lot and would likely turn away many fans who enjoyed the first outing. I know that I, for one, would be extremely disappointed if the sequel received a watered down PG-13 rating. It would be a slap in the fact to everyone who supported the first film. I get that Paramount wants to make money but to sacrifice the quality of the film just for some extra cash? I don’t know about that.
What do you think? Eager to see a PG-13 sequel?