While werewolf movies were all the rage in the 1980s thanks to hits likeAn American Werewolf in London,The Howling, and yes, evenTeen Wolf, by the 2000s they had lost a lot of their bite until directorNeil Marshallcame along with his first feature film,Dog Soldiers. Set in the Scottish Highlands, the film traces a group of soldiers trying to survive against a vicious pack of werewolves, and presents audiences with an ultraviolet movie that utilizes practical effects to deliver one of the most unique takes on the mythical beast ever seen. It’s a cult favorite today, and though a sequel has long been in the works,Marshall took to social media yesterday to share some heartbreaking news about its development.
Posting on hisInstagramaccount (seen below),Marshall confirmed thatDog Soldiers 2is officially dead in the water. He said that though he’d been trying for the past six yearsto get things goingand work out a deal that would bring the sequel to life, just as everything was set to be signed, sealed, and delivered, he was ghosted by David E. Allen, the U.S. rights holder who – as Marshall put it –“cut off all communication.“To add insult to injury, the director says he has no idea what happened, or why. One day, Allen was there, and then he wasn’t.
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Unfortunately,this isn’t the first time fans have had their hearts broken by Allenwhen it comes toDog Soldiers 2. He first announcedDog Soldiers: Fresh Meatin 2004, which never came to fruition despite having a director and story in place. The project was given new life in 2014 when a poster emerged touting a Dec. 20 release date, but again, the date came and went with no sign of a sequel. Since then, Marshall has been trying his best to give the fans what they want, but sadly, as we can see from his update, Allen has once again managed to screw us all over.
Werewolves Are Set for a Big Comeback
While werewolf movies have been on the periphery as of late, they’re set to enter the forefront next month when director Steven C. Miller releases his action-horror flickWerewolveson Dec. 6. Starring Frank Grillo, who has described it as"The Purgemeets werewolves,“the film deals with a supermoon that activates a latent gene in the population that causes anyone who comes in contact with the moonlight to transform into the savage creatures.
A little over a month after Miller releases his movie, Leigh Whannel will also help to propel werewolves back into the mainstream whenWolf Manhits theaters on Jan. 17. While it’s been described as a reboot of the 1941 Universal monster hit, the trailer shows a more confined story that focuses on a family trapped in a farmhouse with a werewolf outside, while Christopher Abbott is on the verge of transforming into one inside.
So, while we may not haveDog Soldiers 2to look forward to anytime soon, it’s at least nice to know that werewolves seem to be on the verge of a comeback. They’ve been pretty scarce this decade so far with few exceptions, and the movies we have gotten, likeThe Beast Within, have been subpar to say the least. Hopefully, Miller and Whannel’s take on them will cause renewed interest from Hollywood, and who knows? Maybe a sequel toDog Soldierswill eventually happen, but as long as Allen has the rights, we won’t hold our breaths on that one.
Dog Soldiers
