I sure as heck didn’t see this one coming, but either way I’m happy to hear it’s on the horizon; while flapping his jaws at a screening of Maniac Cop 1 & 2 this past weekend at the Anthology Film Archives, director William Lustig mentioned to Fangoria he’s planning on doing Maniac Cop 4 with series writer/producer Larry Cohen:
“Larry and I have gotten the sequel rights back for MANIAC COP, and we’re preparing to do a MANIAC COP 4,” Lustig told Fango. “I don’t have any more details other than that; this all happened within the last month, so it’s so fresh…When I get back to Los Angeles, Larry and I are going to sit down and work on something.”
It’s been fifteen years since the psycho civil servant has roamed the streets of Manhattan. During this time, writer/producer Larry Cohen has become a bit of a hot commodity in the spec script arena (Phone Booth, Cellular, Captivity), while Lustig has moved away from directing, primarily focusing on Blue Underground, his excellent DVD company which focuses on cult, exploitation and obscure gems from the glory days of Grindhouse cinema.
Should this come to fruition Lustig and Cohen can hopefully redeem themselves for the atrocity that was Maniac Cop 3.