The kid trafficking mystery Sound of Freedom was once a definitive sleeper hit, an independently produced movie made for lower than $15 million that rode phrase of mouth, a a hit ‘pay it ahead‘ marketing campaign, political mobilization and a hefty dose of controversy to a staggering $182 million and counting on the field place of job.
In Hollywood, that roughly benefit margin in most cases leads in a single course: a temporarily greenlit sequel.
However that’s the place it will get sophisticated for the Angel Studios unencumber, which stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a real-life former particular agent for the U.S. Division of Place of origin Safety who trips to Colombia to rescue youngsters being intercourse trafficked.
Who owns the rights?
It’s sophisticated. In line with Selection, there’s uncertainty amongst Workforce Sound of Freedom over who precisely owns the rights to Ballard’s existence tale.
Co-Author and director Alejandro Monteverde to start with informed the hole that he secured Ballard’s existence rights whilst researching the movie in 2015, and mentioned the opportunity of creating a follow-up movie with the motion shifting to Haiti. “There’s certainly a large number of passion to exploring [the subject] somewhat deeper, as a result of that is simply the end of the iceberg,” Monteverde mentioned. “There’s a large number of passion to roughly discover Haiti, what’s going down in Haiti. There’s [sequel] talks that specialize in Haiti. Haiti was once a large a part of Tim’s paintings. I used to be very tempted to do Haiti in this movie. However I sought after to do an foundation tale, and it was once an excessive amount of subject material.”
But, therefore, a consultant for the filmmaker clarified that his consumer’s rights most effective coated one film.
One by one, a rep for one of the most movie’s manufacturers, Mike Ilitch Jr., informed the hole that her consumer signed a maintain Ballard for “unique existence rights,” and deliberate on turning Freedom right into a multimedia franchise (film sequel, scripted sequence, docuseries, the works). But, therefore, the rep “reversed route,” consistent with the industry, and “mentioned the ideas was once ‘no longer correct,’ with out offering rationalization.”
Obviously, there are some back-room discussions going down at the moment between Ballard, Monteverde, Ilitch Jr. and a large number of attorneys.
May a sequel to be made with out Ballard’s involvement?
Completely. After development an outstanding crowdfunding fairness style thru releases like The Selected, The Wingfeather Saga and David, the Utah-based studio scored their first blockbuster with Sound of Freedom, and there’s no doubt the corporate wouldn’t wish to run it again once more. They extremely most likely personal the rights to the identify.
With out Ballard concerned, although, they’d need to lose Caviezel’s protagonist and possibly introduce a brand new hero. That would for sure alienate some audience.
It’s nonetheless imaginable, although. The movie’s vocal fanbase has rallied at the back of the reason for kid intercourse trafficking, which any follow-up would nonetheless focal point on. Indisputably there are others in Ballard’s box they might recruit, or invent a fictionalized amalgamation.
However changing your motion hero for a sequel isn’t in most cases a formulation that works in films. Simply ask Velocity 2: Cruise Regulate big name Jason Patric or whoever changed Will Smith in Independence Day: Resurgence.
And it’d additionally value Angel Studios the movie’s mastermind. After telling Newsweek {that a} sequel is within the “very early levels,” Monteverde added that he’d most effective make it underneath one situation: “I’d most effective do it with him [Ballard],” he mentioned. “If he isn’t concerned, I am not doing it. It is his existence.” (Monteverde’s subsequent movie, the Italian immigrant drama Cabrini, will unencumber in March, 2024.)
What are the probabilities a sequel sooner or later occurs?
Nonetheless very top. Angel Studios would possibly function in its personal bubble outdoor of Hollywood, and Ballard may be able to be taking part in hardball along with his rights, but if there’s this a lot cash at the desk — and sure, a reason with this a lot pastime at the back of it — it’s laborious to believe the events concerned received’t paintings one thing out.
“Not anything is ready in stone but,” Monteverde cautioned to Newsweek.
It would possibly not coming in no time, both. And take into account, the primary Sound of Freedom movie took 5 years to in spite of everything hit theaters.
