The 2023 Gerard Butler–starring “Plane” had a sequel, titled “Ship,” ready to shoot last year, but there had been no updates concerning production—until today.
Mike Colter, who was supposed to return for the sequel, tells TheDirect that plans were canceled just two weeks before the film’s scheduled shoot. According to Colter, “Gerard [Butler] decided he didn’t want to go forward with it,” which left all the hard work on the film “dissolved.”
It just, last-minute, Gerard [Butler] decided he didn’t want to go forward with it and there wasn’t a lot of discussion about it. He just… two weeks out, he pulled out and we were sort of left trying to figure out what to do. And eventually, that dissolved.
I don’t know—maybe it’s just me—but deciding you don’t want to make a film should probably happen earlier than two weeks before production.
The movie would also have brought back the original director, Jean-François Richet. It should be noted that Colter was set to be the lead in this installment, with Butler stepping back to a cameo role. Odds are that Butler’s company, G-BASE, which was set to finance the film, likely pulled funding at the last minute.
It’s not as though Butler is averse to sequels, having unashamedly starred in several of them, including “Greenland,” “Den of Thieves,” and his Fallen trilogy.
“Plane” was released in 2023 and was met with moderately positive reviews, earning a 78% score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also grossed $75 million at the box office, resulting in an estimated $35M profit.
In the meantime, Butler has no shortage of projects lined up for his streaming audience— including the S. Craig Zahler-penned “Empire City,” set for release later this year, and yes ‘Den of Thieves 3’ is currently eyeing a 2026 shoot because, sure, I guess, why not?