Director Peter Berg says don't expect 'Hancock 2' anytime soon

Will Smith may have the time to make "Hancock 2" relatively soon, but director Peter Berg does not.

Credit: Sony Pictures

If there is anything Sony Pictures is keen on right now it's setting up a sequel to last year's blockbuster anti-superhero movie "Hancock."  A screenplay is in the works and star Will Smith appears to have an open calendar in front of him, but director Peter Berg certainly doesn't. 

Speaking yesterday while meeting with a few select members of the press to discuss his upcoming event flick "Battleship," Berg says he thinks "Hancock 2" will happen, just not anytime soon.  Especially with the "Friday Night Lights" creator shooting "Battleship" next year for a 2011 release and then planning on immediately going into production on the more serious drama "Lone Survivor."

"There are so many cooks in that particular kitchen that are so busy and Will's kind of taken time off to be with his kids and his kids are now making all kinds of films and there are so many people involved in that from Will to his partner James Lassiter to Akiva [Goldsmith] to Michael Man and myself," Berg says.  "To get us all in the same room where we can talk and then agree on anything?  You'll never meet a group of people who will have a harder time agreeing on anything.  It's like the Israeli peace process times a thousand in how tough it is for us all.  But I think it will happen, we just all have to get in the same room with some consistency."

HitFix asked Berg if he could see a "Hancock" sequel occurring after shooting "Battleship" next year.  It doesn't appear so with him on board as he reiterated that "Lone Survivor" is what he wants to do next.

Based on a true story, Berg says "Survivor" tells the tale of  "17 seals that were killed in one gunfight in Afghanistan.  One survived.  It's a great story."

As for even further down the road, Berg isn't ruling out a sequel to his first hit, "The Rundown."  He admitted he wasn't sure why there weren't plans to continue the adventure, but confirmed he'd be up for a second installment.

"I love 'The Rundown.' I don't know if the audience was quite ready to accept Dwayne [at the time]. We had a certain amount of resistance," Berg says. "They screwed around with our release date, but the film still performed well."

And is Mr. Johnson up for another?

"He'd love it," Berg volunteers.  "We always joke 'When are we gonna do it?' But sometimes it's just a question of timing and getting all the stars to line up. There is no reason why we wouldn't ."

Look for much more on Berg's intriguing vision for "Battleship" later tonight on HitFix.

Gregory Ellwood
Editor-in-Chief, Co-Founder

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With over a decade of experience in the movie industry, Ellwood survived working for two major studios and has written for Variety, MSN and the LA Times. A co-founder of HitFix, Ellwood spends his time relaxing hitting 3’s on the basketball court and following his beloved Clippers.