'Face/Off' sequel could focus on children of Sean Archer & Castor Troy, hints Nicolas Cage

In early 2021, it was reported that Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard had been selected to helm a sequel to the 1997 John Woo action classic, Face/Off.

Since then, however, there have been precious few updates on the project and it's now unclear if Wingard — who currently has his hands full with another MonsterVerse adventure and an adaptation of Robert Kirkman's Hardcore comic book — will still direct, though he did affirm his involvement this past summer. The good news is that we might finally have an inkling of the sequel's plot, which could focus on a struggle between the children of FBI agent Sean Archer (John Travolta) and domestic terrorist Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage).

"I think Face/Off is a sequel that lends itself to a lot of twists and turns and unpredictability," Cage remarked to Collider during a larger discussion about the actor's new Western title, The Old Way. "It's almost like if you factor in the idea of offspring and Castor and Sean having children and these children grow up, then it becomes like three-dimensional chess, and then it's not just the two, John Travolta and myself, it's four of us ping-ponging and going at different levels, and it becomes even more complex. I think there's a lot of fertile ground there. I had maybe one meeting in an office, but I haven't heard anything since, so I don't know."

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Director John Woo watches as Nicolas Cage aims pistol in between scenes from the film 'Face/Off' (1997) Photo: Touchstone/Getty Images

Unfortunately, that last sentence casts some serious doubt on the status of the project. It could be moving full steam ahead or it could be deader than the government surgeons who were set ablaze after giving Castor Troy a face transplant. Such is the fickle nature of Hollywood, baby! Chatting with Empire back in early July, Wingard gave a hopeful update on the film, promising that it would feature the return of Cage's character, despite the fact that the villain met the wrong end of a harpoon gun at the end of the first movie.

“That’s become totally the obvious way to go now," Wingard said. "A couple of years ago, the studio maybe would have wanted a hot, young, up-and-coming actor or something. Now, Nicolas Cage is one of the hottest actors in Hollywood again."

The filmmaker also stated that he was deep into a new draft of the screenplay with his usual collaborator, Simon Barrett.

“I think we really got it," he continued. "It has been probably the most challenging script we’ve ever worked on, for a lot of reasons. There’s so much pressure in wanting to make sure that it lives up to the legacy of that project. But every draft you have these things that just click in, and you’re like, ‘A-ha! That’s really what Face/Off is!’”

Need more Cage craziness in your life? The actor will appear as the most famous vampire of them all — Count Dracula — in Universal Pictures' Renfield this spring. Click here to watch the first trailer. If you need that itch scratched immediately, however, just head over to Peacock for Season of the Witch, Bangkok Dangerous, Trespass, and more Cage offerings.