Despite the grand aspirations, City of Bones not only got crushed by critics (I thought it was sorta "meh"), it failed to make a dime, only earning $37M worldwide after releasing last month. Oops. So with production on City of Ashes due to begin next week, the project has instead been shut down with no clear date for it to begin. Where that leaves director Harald Zwart or stars Lily Collins and Jamie Campbell Bower is anybody's guess, but considering the trouble they had assembling the cast this kind of delay could prove problematic. Constantin remains optimistic about the franchise's future, however....
"Constantin Film has a long tradition of adapting books to the big screen. Pushing back the start of production of 'City of Ashes' was a decision we did not take lightly. But after speaking with all of our partners on the creative and distribution side, it was clear that it will be beneficial to have more time to reposition the film in the current market place," said executive producer Martin Moszkowicz of Constantin. "'The Mortal Instruments' series has an incredibly loyal and ardent fan base and is a bestselling book series. While taking Cassandra Clare's vision to the screen, we want to make sure to draw on the full potential of the franchise."
Right. An "incredibly loyal and ardent fan base" who didn't bother to show up and couldn't even be bothered to put in a good word to others that they should. What's the likelihood those "loyal" fans turn out for a sequel? Not too likely.
