Entertainment
EXCLUSIVE: Will There Be A 'PASKAL 2'? We Ask The Director!
We want more!
More often than not, movie studios will almost immediately announce a sequel to a movie they know will be doing well at the box office.That way, the studio could build on the hype of the movie and have fans talking about the sequel. Killing two birds with one stone, you see.
Currently, one movie that has Malaysians talking is none other than local flick 'PASKAL: The Movie', a movie inspired by true under-the-radar but successful exploits of the Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL), one of the world's most elite military units.
Since its launch almost a week ago, 'PASKAL' has been tearing up the cinemas on the back of positive reviews (you can read our honest review here), earning RM7.5mil at the box office in just four days!
So, naturally the follow-up question was this: will there be a 'PASKAL' sequel?
We didn't know the answer to that, so we got in touch with the director, Adrian Teh, to find out.
Ready for more PASKAL
Oftentimes, movie studios or directors are unwilling to share what they have in the pipeline (more attention, more pressure, that kind of thing) but when contacted, Adrian was more than excited to share his plans for 'PASKAL' moving forward.And he was straight to the point: yes, there will be a sequel.
"I hope so (that there will be a sequel). I do have some ideas of how the story should continue but let’s see," he told Rojak Daily.
But don't get too excited yet. Adrian revealed that the 'PASKAL' sequel won't be at the top of his to-do list.
"I will definitely do it (direct a sequel) but maybe not as my next project. I got some other stories in mind that I wanna tell too," he laughed.
How long would we have to wait for the sequel, then?
"I'm giving this title a break and will probably back again maybe in two years' time," he told us.
We then asked him if there's anything that could change his mind about the timeline -- be it demands from the fans or the massive box office collection -- but he was adamant that he will not think about 'PASKAL 2' until the time comes.
And yes, even if 'PASKAL: The Movie' becomes the highest grossing local film of all time, he will not be pressured into making a sequel just for the sake of making a sequel.
"Box office result is definitely going to be a major factor of doing a sequel, but even so, I don’t aim to do a sequel immediately even if it turns out to be a big hit," he revealed.
What's going to be in 'PASKAL 2'?
Now that we know that 'PASKAL 2' is coming, what can we expect from the sequel that we've not seen in the first movie?After all, he did set a pretty high bar in 'PASKAL' - the use of real military assets, the actors performing their own stunts, getting real-life PASKAL members to appear in the movie, etc.
Adrian told us that he aims to make 'PASKAL 2' bigger and more explosive than the first one, but how he's going to do that, he has no idea yet.
"Will need to crack on my head on how to do it better," he laughed.
Does that mean we will see other local military units such as PASKAL in the sequel?
"I'm open to the idea."
The Malaysian spirit
With 'PASKAL: The Movie' dominating the local box office from the get-go - the film earned RM2mil on opening day itself - the one person who wasn't surprised by the success is Adrian."Before we released the movie to the public, people keep telling me that the movie will be good, but I wasn't sure.
"Now, judging by the response, I'm glad that every one was right," he beamed.
If there's one thing that Adrian wants Malaysians to take away from the movie, it's learning about the sacrifices that our soldiers had to make so that you could sleep soundly at night.
"I hope other than them being entertained by the movie, please look into the moral of the whole story.
"We should really learn to appreciate our Armed Forces."
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