We recently celebrated the 22-year anniversary of Neil Marshall’s Dog Soldiers here on Bloody Disgusting, a fan favorite werewolf movie that’s still without a sequel. Over 20 years later, what are the chances of Dog Soldiers 2 ever howling its way into our lives?
Inverse asked Neil Marshall that very question in a brand new interview piece that went live this month. The bad news? It’s still no closer to happening. But Marshall isn’t giving up yet.
“I’ve a feeling it’s probably dead in the water because things have gone very quiet from the other side,” Marshall tells the site, no doubt referring to the rights issues that have long been holding up sequel talks. “I’m not giving up, though; there’s still a possibility.”
He continues, “We’ve been trying to get it off the ground for the past six years. I’ve got a story hammered out, but I’ve not written the script yet because I want to know if we’re actually making it or not first. It’s a good idea, and I know Kevin McKidd (Cooper) is on board, but everything has gone very quiet and we don’t know why. We’ll see. I can’t live my life waiting to see if it does happen. If it happens, it happens. It’s always going to be a double-edged sword, though.”
“The fans want it, and I’d love to give it to them, but if I make a mess of it, they’re not going to thank me,” Marshall elaborates on that thought. “The most important thing is making sure that it lives up to the first one. That’s the hardest part.”
He teases, “The new concept for the story is fresh and acknowledges that 20 years have passed. The story is set in a confined setting but a bigger one than the first film.”
Dog Soldiers pit soldiers up against werewolves in the Scotland wilderness, and a trilogy of films was the original plan. In fact, it had been announced back in 2004 that Dog Soldiers: Fresh Meat was in the works. Of course, that never ended up coming to fruition.
Paul Le wrote here on BD earlier this year, “The incredible highs of werewolf horror make up for the many, many lows. And after twenty-plus years, Dog Soldiers remains a benchmark.”
