Credit: CinemaBlend.com
According to CinemaBlend.com Warner is quietly amping up not one, but two follow-up films to the Academy Award nominated picture The Departed. Currently the development of the previously announced sequel has been put on hold due to Producer Brady Grey settling in to his new job as Paramount’s new Chairman and Chief Executive. In the mean time, screenwriter William Monahan is typing away at the script for The Departed 2, but is also working out an outline for a potential third film.
As already announced, the upcoming sequel will not be an adaptation of Infernal Affairs 2 (which was a prequel to the original) but will instead be a continuation based around the few characters who made it out of the last film alive. Currently the plans are for the movie to follow Mark Wahlberg’s Digman character from the first film with Robert De Niro possibly playing either a corrupt senator or congressman. The details on the third Departed movie are still unknown, but in a recent interview with Empire Online, Wahlberg was quoted as saying “… if it’s a success, they’re gonna do a prequel and bring everyone back make it a trilogy.”
Another interesting bit of news on this topic is that if director Martin Scorsese chooses not to continue with the franchise Warner is already looking at both Michael Mann and Alfonso Cuaron as potential replacements.
The Departed will be released next week (2/13) on DVD, HD-DVD and Blu-ray.
