It sounds like a nightmarish fever dream, but did you know Netflix made a sequel to one of the biggest box office bombs of all-time, one that’s directed by the guy who played Sergeant Qiang in the live-action Mulan remake, and was co-written by Lucifer star Aimee Garcia and former WWE wrestler A.J. Mendez? Because it exists, and Blade of the 47 Ronin has already been making a splash.
As per FlixPatrol, the follow-up to the infamously awful Keanu Reeves flop that saw director Carl Rinsch essentially booted out for reshoots and post-production has become the fifth most-watched feature among subscribers in the United States. That’s impressive given its predecessor’s reputation, but also another sign that those who pay their monthly fees will watch just about anything slapped with the company’s in-house seal of approval.
In all honesty, Blade of the 47 Ronin doesn’t have anything much to do with its notorious bedfellow at all, with the action being set 300 years further into the future, in a society where samurai clans continue to exist in relative secrecy. At least, until they’re forced to whip out their swords and slice and dice any enemies that get in their path.
VOD sequels to money-losing monsters is becoming a bit of a recurring theme given that R.I.P.D. 2 is also lurking somewhere in the shadows waiting to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting world, but at least Blade of the 47 Ronin won’t do what the opening installment did and lose $100 million – because there’s absolutely no chance it even cost a fraction of that amount to produce.