Spike Lee's 2006 film Inside Man remains the most successful of his career, earning $184M worldwide. Starring a Murderer's Row cast of Denzel Washington, Clive Owen, Jodie Foster, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Christopher Plummer, and Willem Dafoe, the crime film was so well-received Lee and his stars agreed to return for a sequel, but in 2011 the project was canceled supposedly over a lack of funding. Well, after all of these years Inside Man 2 is finally happening, but not in the way it was originally conceived. Not by a long shot.
Deadline reports Inside Man 2 is currently shooting in Cape Town, but nobody from the original movie will be involved. Leading the cast will be Aml Ameen, who may be known to some for his roles in The Maze Runner, Sense8, and Idris Elba's directorial debut, Yardie. Production Weekly lists veteran actor Akshay Kumar as being in the cast, as well. Behind the camera will be MJ Bassett, who has been at the helm for episodes of Iron Fist, Power, and the film Silent Hill: Revelation. Brian Brightly wrote the script, and here is the logline, followed by a more insightful synopsis:
The U.S. Federal Reserve is robbed by a highly organized and cleverly orchestrated team of crooks. With dozens of tourists held hostage during a 10-hour siege, an NYPD hostage negotiator (Ameen) and a federal agent join forces to rescue the hostages and foil the heist.
“A scrappy NYPD hostage negotiator (Remy) and a buttoned up federal agent (Brynn), join forces on the day the New York Federal Reserve Bank– home to millions of dollars of Nazi gold bars–is robbed by a highly organized, cleverly orchestrated team of robbers. With 41 tourists held hostage during a six hour siege, both Brynn and Remy agree that saving the hostages is their first priority, but beyond that, their m.o.’s are frequently at odds.”
Sounds pretty basic, and not having connection to the prior movie is a real letdown. Maybe this unexpected sequel will turn out to be surprisingly good, but it's being produced by Universal's home entertainment wing which suggests it will be a straight-to-VOD release.
Check out some set photos from the director's Instagram below:
