Christopher McQuarrie Could Make An 'Edge Of Tomorrow' Sequel An Easier Sell

Christopher McQuarrie is a smart filmmaker who is enjoying being in business with Tom Cruise. He wrote Valkyrie and the later drafts of Edge of Tomorrow, and did script duties and also directed Jack Reacher and Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation.

Recently, Tom Cruise suggested there's at least an idea for an Edge of Tomorrow sequel. That is promising from one angle, in that the first movie was a better film than its box office represents, and a chance to do it again could deliver something interesting. But the original is also a movie that stands quite well on its own. Does it need a sequel? Not really.

But there's an Edge of Tomorrow sequel idea, and it could still be turned into a film. If that happens, says McQuarrie, he would apply lessons learned from the first movie to make it a better sell for audiences.

Uproxx did a long interview with McQuarrie last week, and today has printed part of the conversation that touches on the Edge of Tomorrow sequel.

The writer/director says, yes, there's the kernel of an idea, but it's a long way from being realized as a film:

It all comes down to Warner Bros. and Doug Liman and Emily Blunt saying yes. The idea is there. At worst, it's the kernel of an idea – which is, on one hand, great, but on the other hand, I know what a nightmare that is. I know that I'll be in the void trying to figure that out. And even then when it came out in the press after Tom had mentioned it, right away, there were people on social media saying, "Don't do it, it should never have a sequel, etc., etc." And I'm just laughing because I'm like, "You guys don't even know what we are talking about! You have no idea!" Look, that was one of the best creative teams I've ever worked with as far as a team of rivals: Emily is one facet of that; Doug Liman is a completely different and opposing force; Tom Cruise is another. And there I am in the middle, just playing to these three really strong, really smart people.

That said, if things do come together, McQuarrie learned a lot from Jack Reacher and the first Edge of Tomorrow that might make the second film an easier sell. Specifically: start selling a clearer vision of the film much earlier.

What I've learned, having made Mission, is what I would write into the movie to make that movie an easier sell. Edge of Tomorrow was incredibly difficult to market. From the look of the film... to the title of the film, whatever the title was, whether it was All You Need is Kill or Edge of Tomorrow — and God help us figuring out what the title of the sequel is. The Edge of the Day After Tomorrow? I don't know. But the humor in the film took a good 35 minutes to really dawn on you – the movie really sneaks up on you and takes this sudden left turn. The movie didn't have the moments that a trailer needs to tell you, "This is the experience you're going to have." Jack Reacher was a really tough movie to market and we were constantly struggling... Edge of Tomorrow didn't have a presence on social media until the weekend it came out, then people go, "Oh my God, it's really good" ... it was too little, too late.

And what about the idea of McQuarrie directing Mission: Impossible 6? He and Tom Cruise have a good streak going, but every M:I film so far has employed a different director.

We've certainly talked about it in the abstract. It's a big, big question to have to contemplate [laughs]. First and foremost, as you pointed out, one of the things that people love about this series is that it's a different director for every chapter. And they are very, very challenging movies to make and, with each movie, it becomes more challenging for the next person. And when I was watching Tom on the side of the A400, the first thing I said when he landed was, "Boy, I feel sorry for the next director."

But working with Cruise offers some real advantages:

...I love working with Tom. We've really clicked. And I've entered into a zone where I'm going from movie to movie – where, for years, I couldn't get anything – and now just going from movie to movie without any real creative interference. There's no noise, no bother. That is something that you can never take for granted, and you'd be a fool to walk away from. At the same time, Edge of Tomorrow was so hard and was so draining. When we went out to dinner when we were making Mission and Tom said, "I have an idea for the sequel to Edge, and I said, "I don't want to f*cking hear it. I do not want to know!" And he pitched the idea to me and he finished pitching it, I was like, "Goddammit, why did you do that?"