‘Journey 2: The Mysterious Island’ director Brad Peyton and writers Brian Gunn and Mark Gunn have closed their deals with New Line to return for a third film in the ‘Journey’ franchise. Heat Vision | THR reports that the studio is fast-tracking the project for a possible 2014 release date. LIke its predecessors, Journey 3 will be released in 3D and based on the works of 19th century French writer Jules Verne:
“I grew up a fan of Verne, so I know a lot about the mythologies,” says Peyton. “Mysterious Island was one of eight or nine really seminal works. I know we’ve just scratched the surface of what we can do. This one’s going to be a lot bigger. We’re going to go to a completely different world. It’s just going to be a bigger experience, and we’re going to grow the mythology. Journey 2 was about rebooting a franchise; now it’s about making the seminal work in the franchise.”
It’s unconfirmed who will return for the third film, although The Wrap is reporting that Dwayne Johnson is in talks to return.
Since being released last month, “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island” has grossed $273.5M worldwide ($87.9M domestic / $185.6M foreign) which is already more than what the first film grossed ($242.0M worldwide — $101.7M domestic / $140.3M foreign).