'Safe House' Becoming a Franchise Now
Having grossed nearly as much as Green Lantern with less than half the budget for CGI domino masks, it now looks like Safe House shall instead be the unlikely film to birth a franchise for Ryan Reynolds to shoot things in.
THR reports that Universal has hired on original writer David Guggenheim to write a follow-up to the Ryan Reynolds-Denzel Washington action-thriller that somehow made over $200 million worldwide just by looking vaguely like a Tony Scott film.
Considering (Safe House spoilers ahead!) Denzel dies by the end of the first film, one would guess Safer House--as I naturally assume it's titled--would take the shape of a Bourne, following Handsome Blonde Guy through his further adventures in government betrayals and double-crosses. But as the trade notes, "parties were mum as to whether the new project would be a prequel or a sequel," so it's still feasible that Safer House may instead jump back in time to look at Washington's days prior to going rogue, back when he was a CIA agent and alive. Backing that hypothesis is the rumor "the studio is keen to have Washington involved," which would otherwise only make sense via flashback or Spectral Denzel forever watching over his protégé. "Back when I said I was 'already in your head,' I meant for eternity, Green Lantern. Now go recklessly drive a car."
