Face/Off: Adam Wingard Confirms Movie Is a Direct Sequel Not a Remake

February 12, 2021

Following the news that Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong) will co-write and direct Paramount Pictures’ Face/Off project, the filmmaker confirmed on Instagram that the movie is not a remake or reimagining, but is in fact a sequel. In the post, which you can view below, Wingard said: “I would NEVER reimagine or remake Face/Off. It’s a perfect action movie. Simon Barrett and I are writing a direct SEQUEL!”

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The sequel is set to be helmed by Wingard, who will co-write the script with frequent collaborator Simon Barrett, whose previous credits include the 2016 found-footage horror sequel Blair Witch, the 2014 Dan Stevens-led thriller The Guest, the 2011 horror-comedy You’re Next, and 2010 horror A Horrible Way to Die, all of which were helmed by Wingard. Neal H. Moritz is also attached to produce the project for Paramount while David Permut, who served as a producer on the original, will executive produce.

Click here to purchase the acclaimed 1997 action-thriller!

Released in 1997 and directed by Woo on a script from Mike Werb (The Mask) and Michael Colleary (Lara Croft: Tomb Raider), the original film starred John Travolta as FBI agent Sean Archer and Nicolas Cage as freelance terrorist and sociopath Castor Troy, arch enemies on each side of the law. When Troy plants a nuclear bomb in Los Angeles but being knocked into a coma during the FBI’s apprehension of him, Archer must go undercover as Troy with his crew utilizing a special new technology that allows him to surgically swap faces with the terrorist. Though when Troy wakes up and finds his face gone, he takes on Archer’s identity, leading to a race against time to keep the other from destroying their life.

Alongside Travolta and Cage, the cast for the film included Joan Allen (The Bourne Trilogy), Alessandro Nivola (The Many Saints of Newark), Gina Gershon (Don’t Look Up), Dominique Swain (Alpha Dog), Nick Cassavetes (Prisoners of the Ghostland), Colm Feore (For All Mankind) and CCH Pounder (NCIS: New Orleans).

Upon its summer 1997 release, the film received rave reviews from critics for the performances from its leads and hyper-stylized action sequences helmed by Woo and garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Sound Effects Editing and grossed over $245 million at the global box office.