Following the success of Sylvester Stallone’s 1993 action flick Cliffhanger, from Renny Harlin, a sequel story is recently making rounds on the internet. It has been stated that the film has received funding from the German production fund FFF Bayern, and will begin production in the summer of 2024, under the direction of Ric Roman Waugh.
Meanwhile, Sylvester Stallone’s original Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin shared his opinion on the upcoming sequel. Excited to see how the sequel follows the story of the 1993 action flick, Harlin simply expressed one request that he has, surrounding the project. Speaking with ComingSoon, the filmmaker noted how he hopes the sequel takes after his original.
Reports Surrounding Sylvester Stallone’s Cliffhanger Sequel
During the 80s and 90s, Sylvester Stallone simply rocked the entertainment industry with his screen presence and incredible movies. Thus, following the success of his Rocky and Rambo film series, the actor was sought to appear in Renny Harlin’s 1993 practical action flick Cliffhanger.
Playing the role of Gabe Walker, a rescue mountain climber, Sylvester Stallone stole the show with his botched heist of a U.S. Treasury plane in the Rocky Mountains. Thereafter, fans were truly mesmerized by the movie and its practicality mixed with hardcore action. Hoping for a sequel, audiences were finally offered the good news of Cliffhanger 2 being officially in the works, last spring.
Ever since then, reports from Screen Daily noted how the upcoming sequel will be directed and executive-produced by Ric Roman Waugh. 31 years later, since the release of the original action film, Cliffhanger 2 will again witness Sylvester Stallone taking the pivotal position as reprises his role as Gabe Walker. Further, it was reported that the film received funding from the German production fund FFF Bayern, and will start production in the summer of 2024.
Original Cliffhanger Director Renny Harlin Has a Simple Request
As the reports surrounding Cliffhanger 2 make their rounds on the internet, director Renny Harlin of the original movie expresses his opinion on the same. Excited about his 1993 film finally getting a sequel story, Harlin noted what he expects from the sequel. During his interview with ComingSoon, the filmmaker shared how he hopes for the sequel to take after his original.
“I always felt the movie was hugely successful, and it was crazy that there wasn’t a sequel. There was more story to tell. Now, of course, it’s a long time later, so I have no idea what kind of a story they are planning to tell or what Sly’s role in it is. But I wish them the best of luck.”
Celebrating the reality and practicality of his original Cliffhanger, Renny Harlin mentioned that it would be a mistake if the sequel tried to switch to a more CGI-heavy approach. Since the original 1993 movie turned into a groundbreaking project largely due to its use of practical methods, Harlin believes the sequel might have to keep up with fans’ expectations during the epic action sequences.
“I hope they don’t try to replace what we did with a lot of CG. Because I think the audience will be able to tell that we did everything for real. We shot at 12,000 foot peaks in the Italian Alps. It was real stuff, like the opening sequence with the girl falling. It was done for real. That was at 8,000 feet, that wire.”
“It’s so easy for the studios to say now, ‘We’ll do everything blue screen and create everything digitally.’ I hope they don’t do that because it deserves a sequel with the same spirit of the original.”
For the sake of the audiences’ expectations and also for the film itself, director Renny Harlin hopes they don’t spoil the sequel with heavy visual effects and CGI. Having that one simple request, Harlin concluded his interview.