Movies - TV
Why The
Taxi Driver Sequel Never Happened, According To Robert
De Niro
By MARCOS MELENDEZ
A follow-up to 1976’s "Taxi Driver" would be the epitome of cinema reaching the end of its existence because the film is a product of its time, painfully attached to the specific circumstances of it. Even though the ending of the movie leaves room for a sequel, Robert De Niro, Martin Scorsese, and screenwriter Paul Schrader never got that far on a
sequel idea, for a reason.
De Niro caught up with GQ in 2019 — almost 45 years since the film's release — and discussed the possibility of a sequel to "Taxi Driver" set in today's sociopolitical climate. He said, “There's no point doing it unless it was special and makes a comment on the times and adds to what that movie was."
On the surface level, a possible "Taxi Driver" sequel set in a different era of political strife seems admirable compared to the alternative. Perhaps Travis reacts in a volatile way to the state of the world once again, pushing him to the edge for good, but it would be impossible to replicate the cultural phenomenon the original set in the ‘70s.