Eastern Promises was one of David Cronenberg's most commercially successful films and is often listed as one of Viggo Mortensen's best performances outside of Lord Of The Rings.
Mortensen played a Russian mobster who was, in reality, a deep-cover police officer who had embedded himself with London's criminal underworld. Together with Vincent Cassel and Naomi Watts, it made for an electrifying crime drama with some brutal moments throughout.
A sequel has long been rumoured, however Cronenberg effectively threw cold water over the prospect last year, saying that it wasn't going to happen as James Schamus in Focus Features had pulled the plug. As Cronenberg tells it, the script that he had worked on with Steven Knight had it that Mortensen's character returned to Russia. "I thought it was a very ambitious script and I wanted to do it properly," said Cronenberg in an interview with IndieWire in 2012. He went on, saying that it was a budget disagreement and that he was no longer "involved anymore."
That, as far as everyone knew, was it for Eastern Promises 2. However, a rumoured casting call for the film has apparently kicked off interest in the film yet again. The listing, from myentertainmentworld.com, claims that the film is due to begin filming in London in March of this year and that the working title for the film is Body Cross.
There's been nothing in the way of an official announcement from either David Cronenberg, Viggo Mortensen or Steven Knight, nor has there been any studio, distributor or producer announcing the film either. There's no listing on iMDB for Eastern Promises 2, although there is something up for Body Cross - but there's no information or cast listing, just that it's in production this year.
All told, it's best to take this story with a pinch of salt. There might be some kind of official confirmation forthcoming in the next day or two, hopefully, but for the meantime, this seems like a rumour.
Via myentertainmentworld.com
