A ‘Demolition Man’ Sequel Joins the List of Sylvester Stallone’s Many Promised Sequels
After years of fans being teased about the possibility, a sequel to the 1993 sci-fi action comedy Demolition Man may finally be coming to fruition, according to original star Sylvester Stallone. He just told his Instagram followers: “I think it is coming. We’re working on it right now with Warner Brothers, and it’s looking fantastic, so that should come out. That’s going to happen.”
In the first film, Stallone plays John Spartan, a police officer who is brought out of suspended animation in the year 2032 — a time when crime and violence have gone extinct — to put a stop to an old terrorist foe (played by Wesley Snipes) who has also been unfrozen. It’s one of Stallone’s best movies, and a sequel is an exciting notion. But don’t get your hopes up just yet.
Stallone is quite prone to announcing sequels that never materialize. He gets excited, drops the news, then nada. He might prove us wrong with Demolition Man 2 — and I hope that he does — but history has shown that this type of news should be taken with a grain of salt. Let’s take a look at some of the other unmade sequel ideas that he’s mentioned below.
The Expendables 4
The Expendables 3 didn’t exactly blow up at the box office, but that hasn’t stopped Stallone from trying to bring the aging mercenaries back for one more mission. In 2014, Pierce Brosnan was on board to play the villain in The Expendables 4, and there was even talk of Jack Nicholson being involved.
Stallone then parted ways with the project in 2017 over disagreements about the film’s creative direction. However, he returned the following year and has remained on board ever since. Earlier this year, franchise regular Randy Couture told The Action Elite he’s read the script, but there have been no significant developments on the project since then.
Cliffhanger 2
After the success of Rambo in 2008, Stallone tried to convince Sony Pictures to greenlight a sequel to one of his most enjoyable movies — it’s basically Die Hard on a mountain — while the iron was hot. But the studio wasn’t interested in a follow-up to Cliffhanger, the original of which came out the same year as Demolition Man.
That was unfortunate news because the action star has wanted to reprise the role of Gabe Walker since 1994. At one point, there was even talk of a sequel called Cliffhanger 2: The Dam, which would have seen Stallone’s character battling terrorists at the Hoover Dam. That premise is incredible, but it’s probably too ‘90s for modern Hollywood.
In 2015, Sly took to Instagram and told fans that he still wants the sequel to happen, but he was just throwing the idea out there and reliving old memories. That said, a remake is currently in the works courtesy of Ana Lily Amirpour. I wouldn’t be surprised if Stallone tries to resurrect the sequel at a later date, but he seems to have let this one go for the time being.
Tango & Cash 2
While Stallone seems adamant to make sequels to all of his beloved movies, his co-stars aren’t always as keen to the idea. Last year, Stallone told Fandango about his plans to make a sequel to Tango & Cash, his 1989 buddy cop picture about detectives who get framed for murder, but he needed Kurt Russell to get over his reservations first.
According to Stallone, the Cash to his Tango is hesitant to make the movie as the actors are no longer in their primes (“Now we’re in our unprime,” Russell stated, “I dunno…I’ll talk to you when I get back”). While Russell didn’t completely shut down the idea either, Stallone will need to twist his arm some more to get his old co-star on board.
This is the type of nostalgic sequel I can get behind. And if the movie happens, I hope the veteran stars streak again for old time’s sake.
Cobra Sequel/Series
Marion Cobretti is one of Stallone’s favorite creations, and the actor has had the itch to play the match-chewing, trigger happy detective again for years. Despite being mauled by critics at the time, Cobra went on to become a cult classic among action buffs, and the movie deserved to spawn a franchise much sooner.
While a sequel has been discussed for years, recent developments suggest that Cobra could be rebooted as a television series. Right now, it’s unknown if Stallone will star or let another actor cure the disease that is crime. But he’s involved regardless, and he’s supposedly been working on some ideas with Robert Rodriguez.
Rocky VII
The two Creed movies have rejuvenated the Rocky franchise for modern times. Both installments of the reboot acknowledge the six Rocky movies that came before while taking the franchise into the future with a new lead character. It’s a great balance.
There’s no need for another solo Rocky. However, Stallone wants to put on the gloves again, even though his character is an elderly cancer survivor who shouldn’t be boxing. Last year, he told Collider that he won’t appear in the inevitable Creed 3 but does have plans for Rocky VII. He kept the details a secret, though he says it will be political and involve a “foreign country.”
The rest of the movies on this list seem like pipe dreams, but there could be some interest in this one since the Rocky franchise is a golden goose.
