Adam Wingard's ‘Face/Off 2' to Star John Travolta and Nicolas Cage

Back in 2022, it was announced that Adam Wingard and his longtime collaborator, writer Simon Barrett, were teaming up for a sequel to 1997’s “Face/Off.” Last year, in a chat with The Fourth Wall Podcast, Wingard stated that he would only make the film if the original cast returned:

Look, I mean, like, the only way that we’re going to do this really is if we get, you know, the original cast.’ I’m not going to say how it works or anything, but like, it’s got to be 100% the real follow up not just like some fan service movie, not just some like ca-ching thing, this has to feel like the ultimate follow up to the original film.

We now have an update from Daniel Richtman, and it’s a real doozy. He’s confirming that Nicolas Cage and John Travolta will be returning for the sequel, but potentially in supporting roles ..

“Face/Off 2” is apparently centered around the children of Castor Troy (Cage) and Sean Archer (Travolta) who grow up destined to … face off. This is too wild to be true, but knowing Richtman’s source of reporting, he probably saw it on a recent production grid, which should not be discredited.

The only way the sequel was going to work was if the characters from the original returned. Much of the fun in the 1997 film came from the bonkers alchemy that was created between Cage and Travolta. You can’t replicate that with any other actors.

No production date has been announced, but between Travolta mostly starring in C-movies and Cage’s schedule being, surprisingly, light next year, maybe we could expect it to be shot very soon?

You’re also probably wondering how Cage could possibly be returning for the sequel if his character was shot by a harpoon and killed at the end of the original. Well, it’s quite simple, really — Barrett, who is writing the sequel, has stated that he doesn’t believe Castor Troy — played by Cage — actually died.

The funny thing is, I never personally thought Castor Troy died at the end of Face/Off. When you watch it now, it’s kind of clear that what they were actually probably doing was trying to have it both ways where he looks pretty damn dead when he gets shot with the fishing spear. But, they don’t cover him up and the back of it is him getting loaded on an ambulance. To me, don’t load a person on an ambulance next to a living person without putting a sheet over them in a movie unless they’re alive.

I hoped for John Woo to be back for the sequel, but we’ll have to settle with Wingard and Barrett. Wingard is coming off his ‘Godzilla x Kong’ movies, but is currently shooting A24’s “Onslaught,” written by Barrett, which has been billed as his return to the indie roots that sparked up “You’re Next” and “The Guest.”