Matt Damon Is Trying To Make A Sequel To His Fan-Favorite Movie
When people think of Matt Damon these days, they probably would identify him primarily as being an action movie star. His time in the Jason Bourne films solidified him as someone known for playing characters in high stakes situations where he can hold his own against deadly threats. So it might surprise quite a few fans that when discussing what movie he would like to be in a sequel for, Matt Damon said he would do Rounders 2.
Rounders
The original Rounders came out back in 1998 and earned just $22.9 million against a $12 million budget for its theatrical run. Based on that first impression, it might sound baffling what Damon would consider so special about the movie.
But as the world of high stakes poker has become increasingly popular in real life, it also built up a strong following for the niche movie. Apparently Matt Damon also falls into that niche, as he enjoys the subject matter so much that he would return for Rounders 2.
Underground Poker
Edward Norton co-starred in the cult classic original. Underground poker tournaments are not the sort of thing that Hollywood makes the focal point of movies very often, so it is understandable why a rare movie focused on the intricacies of being a successful gambler would stand out.
The only problem for the movie’s fans and Matt Damon is convincing a movie studio to move forward with Rounders 2 over 25 years later.
Damon Isn’t The Only One On Board
Speaking about his passion for the idea, Matt Damon recently discussed a potential Rounders 2, saying, “The one we’ve been talking about for years, and we’re trying to, and I just saw Edward Norton a few weeks ago, like all of us want to do it is a second Rounders movie.”
So clearly this is not just Matt Damon’s passion project since others are on board too. “So much has happened in the poker world in the last 25 years, it would be fun to catch up with those guys.”
It certainly would not be unprecedented for a movie from decades ago to get a modern revival. Comic book movies in particular have been seeing a lot of success with acknowledging the history of their characters, such as Hugh Jackman returning to play Wolverine, or Tobey Maguire returning to play Spider-Man.
Though admittedly it is more untested how well a gambling movie would do if Matt Damon was able to convince a studio to do Rounders 2.
Already Written?
However, one interesting tidbit that Matt Damon revealed is that writers had actually already written out a story for Rounders 2 years ago. So evidently this is not the first discussion that has come up about the subject and plans had moved pretty far along before coming to a halt.
“They had a whole movie ready to go then,” Matt Damon said of Rounders 2, “but now there’s been a whole another change in the poker world since then, so I haven’t talked to them about what it would be, but I know… what they had 10 years ago was fantastic, and I’m sure they could augment and roll with the times and update it to where we are today and make something great.”
Easier Said Than Done
Even if Matt Damon wanted to produce Rounders 2 himself, he acknowledges that one of the biggest holdups is complications with the rights of the movie. It is hard to predict whether the current right holders would consider it a valuable asset based on poker’s newfound popularity, or if they would be willing to sell for the right price considering this is a movie from over 25 years ago.
Damon is still quite active in big movies, appearing in last year’s Oppenheimer. But apparently if Matt Damon could pick which project he would take on next purely for the fun of it, he would be going with Rounders 2.
Source: Deadline
