After its release, the 2002 horror movie Dog Soldiers was quickly considered one of the genre’s best werewolf movies. It blended horror, action, and just enough humor to craft a great experience and one that would help launch the career of director Neil Marshall. Now, however, Neil Marshall has delivered a mixed update regarding Dog Soldiers 2.
A sequel to Dog Soldiers has been discussed almost as long as the first film has been available to watch. Sadly, however, plans have always fallen apart. Plans for a sequel, for a trilogy, and even a web series have all been discarded over the years. Now, while speaking with Inverse, Marshall has addressed the current possibility of Dog Soldiers 2 happening today.
Here’s what Marshall first had to say:
“I’ve a feeling it’s probably dead in the water because things have gone very quiet from the other side,” he begins.
On the flip side, he acknowledges that there’s still a chance it could happen. While he has a story for the project, it seems as though everything else needs to come together before he can write the script and shoot the movie.
“I’m not giving up, though; there’s still a possibility. We’ve been trying to get it off the ground for the past six years. I’ve got a story hammered out, but I’ve not written the script yet because I want to know if we’re actually making it or not first. It’s a good idea, and I know Kevin McKidd (who played Cooper in the first film) is on board, but everything has gone very quiet and we don’t know why. We’ll see. I can’t live my life waiting to see if it does happen. If it happens, it happens. It’s always going to be a double-edged sword, though. The fans want it, and I’d love to give it to them, but if I make a mess of it, they’re not going to thank me. The most important thing is making sure that it lives up to the first one. That’s the hardest part.“
For those curious, Marshall clarifies that past ideas for sequels have all been dropped in favor of his latest idea. Though he couldn’t reveal much, it appears to take place in a larger albeit confined setting than what the first film offered. It would also acknowledge the more than two decades that have passed since the first movie took place.
“The thing about cloning was something that I was toying with a while ago, but it never amounted to anything. The idea of the American soldiers was something that the producers of the film were pursuing. They tried to get it made as Dog Soldiers: Fresh Meat. That never happened, and it’s a good thing too because it wasn’t a very good idea. The other one was an idea I toyed with a long time ago too. The new concept for the story is fresh and acknowledges that 20 years have passed. The story is set in a confined setting but a bigger one than the first film.“
It’s nice to know that both Marshall and star Kevin McKidd are eager to return. Hopefully, then, the other pieces will fall into place so that fans of the original movie can get a worthy continuation. In the meantime, stay tuned to ScreenGeek for any additional Dog Soldiers news as we have it.