Anthony Mackie Has Some Ideas About What Real Steel 2 Could Look Like
It's a guilty pleasure for some and a film that has every reason not to work, but did. Shawn Levy's "Real Steel" was essentially a live-action take on Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots and made for a great bit of filmic fun when it was released an unthinkable ten years ago. Set in the not-too-distant future, the film saw Hugh Jackman as a down-and-out boxer who gets a second wind by entering the world of robot boxing. Met with middling reviews at the time of release (via Rotten Tomatoes), the film earned a small cult following over the years, with one particular fan being one of its cast members, Anthony Mackie.
Mackie seems enthusiastic about the potential of another "Real Steel" movie, and he isn't the only one. Speaking to Inverse (via Twitter) back in August, director Shawn Levy said, "we've always loved it that much too. It's one of those never say nevers, it feels like the clock has run out on that window of opportunity. It feels like that fan-love and that audience hasn't gone away. So, who knows?"
Mackie recently spoke about his desire to bring another "Real Steel" to fans and how his character could factor into the new film.
Mackie thinks there's a round 2 in Real Steel
The current Captain America and star of "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" revealed to EW that there was always talk of expanding on the world of "Real Steel," going as far back as when he initially signed on for the film. "He offered me the part with the idea of the part growing throughout the scope of the movie and hopefully the series — because I was like, 'Man, we could do part 2. We could do part 10,'" explained Mackie, who always saw potential in the film, explaining, "I wanted it to be like the 'Fast and the Furious' series."
While he's currently busy working in that other well-known franchise, Mackie still feels that there's a future in this world and his character, Finn: "I think the possibilities are endless. I always thought about the idea of going to the underground world and seeing what the reality is. The underground boxing circuit is so different than that last fight [in the film] with all the glitz and the glam and the polish. I feel like you can do a "Mad Max" meets "Real Steel," and I could be Tina Turner." Cue mental images of Anthony Mackie singing "We Don't Need Another Hero" immediately.
There's no denying that a decade is quite a time jump to return to a franchise, but Mackie sounds like has that covered too. "It would be hilarious to show [Max] coming back as a grown adult now and he's a successful businessman and he doesn't have time for robot boxing," he suggested. "'That's for kids!' And he falls back in love with robot boxing and realizes that life is happier when you're not stressed with work."