A holiday classic may soon have a sequel in the works.
While promoting his latest feature, the Apple TV+ war epic miniseries Masters Of The Air, producer Gary Goetzman revealed that he has his sights set on doing a sequel to Polar Express (2004), during an interview with ComicBook.com.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis, who worked from a script he co-wrote with William Broyles Jr., the original 2004 Christmas adventure fantasy film received divisive reviews from critics upon release, with some calling it an ‘instant Christmas classic’ and others criticizing the characters as ‘lifeless zombies.’
But the film has since grown into a cultural phenomenon, with references to its animation and story regularly becoming part of the chatter in both mainstream spotlights and social media comments with fans.
Ultimately, Polar Express, which featured human characters animated using live action and motion capture computer animation, starring Tom Hanks in the lead, went on to gross $314.2 million at the worldwide box office, while working from a budget of between $165-170 million.
Producer Gary Goetzman revealed that he has his sights set on doing a sequel to Polar Express (2004), during an interview with ComicBook.com
According to Goetzman, Polar Express 2 is a project he and others who worked on the original have their sights on and are trying to get moving despite potential obstacles.
‘Listen, I’d love to,’ Goetzman said of the sequel, before sharing that there are a number of old films that he hopes to revisit with a sequel or prequel.
‘I’d love to do a sequel of Where The Wild Things Are. There’s a lot of the things that we’ve done, if it established itself, branded itself, those movies, studios want another one’, the producer explained. ‘That’s the way it goes. I’m up for Mamma Mia 3, man. That would be a ball to do right about now. ‘
The former child star continued: ‘But it becomes, there’s so much involved with, “Who’s artistic property would that be? Would that be?” It’s just not like, “Hey, let’s go do another free sailing!” So, they all take time and that’s okay because we don’t mind things going slowly. But that is trying to be worked out now, for sure, Polar 2. Yes.’
The original film was based on the 1985 book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg.
Along with Hanks, the cast also included Daryl Sabara, Nona Gaye, Jimmy Bennett, Eddie Deezen, Josh Hutcherson, Michael Jeter, Peter Scolari, Hayden McFarland, Matthew Hall, Jimmy Pinchak, ndré Sogliuzzo, Leslie Zemeckis, Dylan Cash, Isabella Peregrina, Ashly Holloway, among others.
Since there was never a follow-up to the 1985 children’s book of the same name by Chris Van Allsburg, a sequel would have to by written from scratch. So, there’s no telling where a Polar Express sequel would go, in terms of the story.
The original tells the the story of a young boy who sees a mysterious train bound for the North Pole stop outside his window and is invited aboard by its conductor, accord to Wikipedia. He joins other children as they embark on a journey to visit Santa Claus preparing for Christmas.
Goetzman (left), 71, revealed the movie is being ‘worked out’ now. The original Polar Express (2004) starred Tom Hanks, 67, (R)
Polar Express initially grossed $286 million against a record-breaking $165–170 million budget, which was the biggest sum for an animated feature at the time, but ultimately raked in more than $314.2 million
Robert Zemeckis, 71, directed the original Polar Express, but he has not yet commented on whether he would return for a follow-up; Pictured in 2022
Polar Express was listed in the 2006 Guinness World Records as the first all-digital capture film
Polar Express initially grossed $286 million against a record-breaking $165–170 million budget, which was the biggest sum for an animated feature at the time.
In the wake of re-releases, the worldwide box office number shot to more than $314.2 million, and it was later listed in the 2006 Guinness World Records as the first all-digital capture film.
While Goetzman revealed the effort being made to follow up on Polar Express, Hanks and Zemeckis have not yet commented on the idea.
Goetzman’s Masters of the Air, which her executive produces with Hanks and Steven Spielberg, premieres on Apple TV+ on January 26.