In a 2020 interview with Comicbook about The Old Guard, Charlize Theron briefly spoke about Hancock 2 and her interest in doing a sequel. “You know, for a while we [talked about a Hancock sequel]. I think closer to when the movie came out, but not in recent years, no. We’ll be superheroes with our walkers, you know. And I’ll still go! I’ll still make that movie; I would do it in a heartbeat.”
So why hasn’t it happened yet?
It’s not an overstatement to say that 2008 was a turning point for the entire concept of superheroes. For starters, this year saw the origin of the modern Marvel Cinematic Universe thanks to the outstanding Iron Man film. The landscape of superhero films was changing for good, seeing as both the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy and the original X-Men live-action films had come to an end.
This is the period when Will Smith’s Hancock was released. An unapologetically irreverent take on the superhero genre, Hancock was a hero for the modern age. Though cynical, Hancock could show some hints of heroism from time to time, offering an original character not based on any comics that immediately garnered a decent fan following.
However, like many great superhero movies, Hancock was mostly an origin story — a teaser of what’s to come from such a promising character. The much-anticipated Hancock 2 never came, leaving fans wishing for a sequel for more than a decade now. For a time, it seemed like a Hancock sequel was definitely happening, with both Will Smith and Charlize Theron on board with the project, but what happened to Hancock 2? And, more importantly, could it still be made today?
Hancock and Immortality
One of the key aspects of the Hancock mythos is that Will Smith and Charlize Theron’s characters are immortal and do not age. These two individuals have been around for the better part of three millennia — and that might prove difficult to replicate using mortal actors more than ten years later in a Hancock sequel.
Now that both Charlize Theron and Will Smith are considerably older than they were in 2008, the writers would have to come up with an excuse as to why two immortal heroes who presumably have not aged all that much in three thousand years suddenly began getting wrinkles in just a decade or so.
Charlize Theron mentioned this in a 2020 interview when she mentioned that plans for Hancock 2 were being seriously discussed for a time, but that she now believes that too much time has passed since the release of the original film.
Sure, a Hancock sequel could take advantage of the impressive digital rejuvenation techniques we’ve seen in films like Gemini Man. The younger version of Will Smith looks almost uncanny — and could very well be an efficient way to sell the idea that Hancock never ages in Hancock 2.
A New Age of Heroes
As we mentioned before, times have changed drastically for superheroes in cinema since Hancock’s release. Both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe are entertainment behemoths, amassing most of the international box office and pretty much drowning the competition.
Standalone superhero flicks haven’t been so successful since the MCU took over, and Hancock 2 probably wouldn’t be the exception. Any way you look at it, a Hancock sequel would be a risky endeavour for any studio, which might be one of the main reasons why Hancock 2 hasn’t been released.
The more time it passes since the release of the original movie, the least likely it is that we’ll ever get a Hancock 2. Still, stranger things have happened, and maybe the Hancock sequel could turn out to be radically different from what we saw in the first movie. After all, there’s always a chance that Smith’s son, Jaden Smith, takes over the role of his father in a tentative Hancock 2 that acts as a prequel to the 2008 film.
Yes please!! Hancock 2 definately, its hilarious, heartfelt, and great to watch the cast was amazing
I don’t see it, not just due to the lack of a good script that could continue the story, but because I think there is quite a few facts that point to Will being someone that nobody wants to work with.
Cast and crew Will Smith actually works with praising both his work ethic and friendliness after the project has ended are almost axiomatic. There are individuals who seem to deeply resent the fact that he continues to work, continues to be invited to collaborate with the most creative people in the industry and continues to find success but that malice is only that. For every 1000 people wiho share a positive personal experience there is always going to be someone who heard from someone who heard from someone else, something negative. Everyone in the public eye experiences it.
There are all kinds in the world and some folks are just like that.
I believe immortals do age and eventually pass if they fall in love with their immortal match and stay with that person. Maybe they ended up together after all, maybe after her husband died. Then after a couple hundred years which would be nothing to them some new danger temps them out “retirement” which is as simple and terrible as leaving each other again.
But even if they did they would never be able to participate in the same fight. Which might be funny and terrifying which seems like the right tone. Being able to fly “sometimes”after all is not a thing.
It should be in the future and lean a little more into the fantasy aspect. Also they should actually want to be together even if it seems impossible or irresponsible. There are myths like that and again that feels like the right touch. After 3000 years or so I feel like a couple would legitimately be tired of humanity’s bullshit.