Doug Liman has a habit of attaching himself to projects before dropping out soon after, so hearing that he’s developing something is no indication that it’ll get made. After all, the filmmaker walked away from Justice League Dark and Gambit, while he was replaced for the extensive reshoots on upcoming YA adaptation Chaos Walking, which is still sitting on the shelf awaiting release.
However, one thing that he does have going for him is a solid working relationship with Tom Cruise, having helmed the fantastic Edge of Tomorrow and true-life crime thriller American Made, while he’s currently signed on to tackle the SpaceX movie that will send the action icon beyond the stars as he continues to blaze an insane trail when it comes to his commitment to blockbuster spectacle.
A sequel to the duo’s Groundhog Day-style sci-fi epic has been in the works since April 2016, but progress on Live Die Repeat and Repeat has been slow to say the least. That shouldn’t come as a shock to those aware of the first installment’s torturous shoot, but there’s still a lingering feeling that the second outing might never end up coming together.
Emily Blunt certainly hopes that it does, but in a recent interview, Liman confirmed that neither of the stars have officially signed on the dotted line to return, and the fate of the entire endeavor rests on their shoulders.
“It’s one of these things where if Tom, Emily and I were to say, ‘we’re ready to pull the trigger on this script’, it’s Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, the film gets made. That’s pretty much how Hollywood works. The stars are the gatekeepers. If you can get Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt to commit to the movie, it’s going to happen.”
Of course, Cruise is very busy at the moment shooting Mission: Impossible 7 and 8 back to back, then he’ll need to hit the promotional trail for Top Gun: Maverick before heading into outer space, while Blunt has A Quiet Place Part II and Jungle Cruise in the can and awaiting release. For the time being, then, any Edge of Tomorrow sequel plans remain firmly on the back burner.