Jorge R. Gutierrez Announces ‘Book of Life 2’
At the Annecy Festival in Annecy, France, Reel FX Animation Studios alongside director Jorge R. Gutierrez announced that they will move forward with the sequel to The Book of Life that was first released in 2014. It is one of the biggest U.S. independent animated feature breakouts of the decade.
The sequel will be directed by Gutierrez and produced by Reel FX Animation Studios. It will take on the style of stereoscopic 3D.
Gutierrez has shared with Variety:
[The first movie’] core [was] of the Day of the Dead: That if you talk about someone, sing their songs, remember them they are with you. […] The sequel grew from that and people asking what was gonna happen with the characters, what’s gonna happen to the gods? The sequel embraces all these things and, in a weird way, is a continuation of the story with everybody you love from the first movie.
In regards to the team that will help bring the sequel to life, Gutierrez has stated that he hopes to bring back his dream team from the first film. As of now, The Book of Life 2 is undergoing early discussions of what is to be expected. But based on what Gutierrez has shared, Reel FX’s head of business development and strategic partnerships Chuck Peil shares the same sentiment and states that the sequel will be “the continuation of an extraordinary story that technically and creatively captures the vision Jorge had of this fabulous world.”
The original film had attracted many fans and high praise for its cultural representation, quirky art style, and lovable characters and songs. Passionate fans had even spurred on plenty of artwork for the movie. Even when a sequel had not been confirmed, Gutierrez’s wife Sandra Equihua and Book of Life art director Paul Sullivan even made a poster for a hypothetical sequel.
Photo via Variety
The Book of Life followed a love triangle between three childhood friends: guitar-strumming Manolo (Diego Luna) and fierce-warrior Joaquin (Channing Tatum) vying for the hand of the exuberant Maria (Zoe Saldana). This little feud causes a wager between the gods Xibalba and La Muerte to see who would win the hand and heart of Maria. It was produced by Guillermo del Toro and distributed by 20th Century Fox, and earned over $100 million worldwide.
Reel FX had not formally announced a sequel until the rights were fully attained, and now it is very much a reality.
What are your thoughts on the announcement? What do you hope the sequel will entail? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Source: Variety
