The 2007 movie Eastern Promises plunged viewers into the violent world of the Russian mob via the story of Nikolai (Viggo Mortensen), an enforcer who finds his loyalties tested after meeting Anna (Naomi Watts), a midwife who is investigating the case of a prostitute who died in childbirth. Among other things, that movie is memorable for a crazy fight scene where a nude Mortensen is forced to do battle with various men in a Turkish bath.
For a while there was talk of Eastern Promises getting the sequel it deserves, but that talk ended seemingly forever after director David Cronenberg pronounced the project dead. It’s possible however that despite Cronenberg’s words, viewers could soon be treated to a continuation of Nikolai’s story, with the first movie’s writer in place.
Digital Spy reports that Eastern Promises 2 could still be on, citing a listing on the website My Entertainment World for a movie called Body Cross (aka Eastern Promises 2) that is set to begin shooting in London in March, 2017. The listing on My Entertainment World contains the following synopsis:
The script for Eastern Promises 2, by the original film’s writer Steven Knight, has been in the can for a while and according to Knight is better than the script for the first movie (via Digital Spy). Considering how good the original movie was, it’s quite a statement for Knight to say his follow-up script is actually superior:
The sequel picks up where the 2007 film left off — with the incompetent underboss Kirill thinking that he and his henchman driver Nikolai really have inherited the throne from his crime-lord father, without knowing that Nikolai is actually a clandestine agent working undercover in Russia’s federal security service.
It appears Knight has succeeded in getting the movie made. However, at this point there is no word whether David Cronenberg is attached. Cronenberg’s direction was central to the brutal effectiveness of the original Eastern Promises, so to not have him back would arguably be disappointing. There’s also no word on whether any of the original movie’s cast would be returning.
“I can say the script for the second one is much better that the first. Honestly it’s one of the things I’ve written that I most like and it’s driving me mad… so I’ve got to get it made.”
The first Eastern Promises is a film that is remembered very fondly, and by the sound of it Steven Knight has come up with an interesting story that puts quite an unexpected twist on the character of Nikolai and what he’s all about. If the script really is as good as Knight says, then there’s reason to be excited about what Eastern Promises 2 could be, even without Cronenberg or Mortensen (who could retire from movies at any moment) on-board.
Eastern Promises 2 does not have a release date. We’ll keep you updated on the latest information.
Source: My Entertainment World (via Digital Spy)
