As a blockbuster sci-fi that focused on human soldiers in advanced mechanized suits battling against an alien invasion in the future, Edge of Tomorrow was never exactly going to be a somber chamber piece, especially with Tom Cruise in the lead role. The star hasn’t played a major part in a straightforward drama since 2007, so when you see his name attached to anything, pyrotechnics are almost inevitable.
Of course, the pic suffered from a very troubled production that saw director Doug Liman fall way behind schedule and go massively over budget, so much so that Cruise drafted in regular collaborator Christopher McQuarrie to handle on-set rewrites. Jeremy Piven, meanwhile, was added to the cast ten months after shooting started and he ended up being cut from the theatrical release, which gives you an idea of what the creative team were up against.
Still, Edge of Tomorrow remains one of the most severely overlooked and underrated sci-fi movies of the 21st Century, overcoming the multitude of behind the scenes issues to deliver a fresh, inventive and action-packed thrill ride, even if a box office haul of $370 million was disappointing given the $178 million budget.
A sequel is still in the works, though, with Liman set to return behind the camera, and in a recent interview, he revealed that he plans for second outing Live Die Repeat And Repeat to be a smaller affair, with the focus on the characters rather than the spectacle.
“I’ve always been interested in the idea of a sequel being more character-driven than the first film, because that’s not how things are normally done. That’s been my approach when developing the sequel and because Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are such phenomenal actors. I get sometimes the sequel just has to have more firepower or more explosions, but no visual effect is going to top what you’re going to get from a great scene performed by Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt.”
Everyone involved in the first installment sounds game for a sequel, and Edge of Tomorrow boasted plenty of franchise potential, but based on the setbacks it faced, there’s no point getting too hyped up until the gang is officially back together and cameras have started rolling.