Get ready for another round of testicular fisticuffs- David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortenson are re-teaming with scribe Steve Knight for a sequel to their 2007 Russian Mob thriller, Eastern Promises.
The pair will spending the year together, as they first have the historical psychiatry film The Talking Cure to make, with this set to begin right after in the winter. In that film, Viggo will be portraying Sigmund Freud (replacing the sadly departed Christoph Waltz), while in the follow up to Eastern Promises he will reprise his role as Nikolai.
I would avoid this paragraph if you haven’t seen the first film, which ended with a significant reveal. The dramatic shift from Nikolai being an infamous psychopathic gangster to an undercover agent of the department-formerly-known-as-the-KGB was a well-played element that was unfortunately introduced right before the movie ended. Nikolai had survived his way to the top of the London-area Russian Mafia, and Cronenberg and Knight should have no problem making an interesting story out of a mole leading the mob.
There is no mention of watt capacity, if any, the first film’s leading lady will play. There is some speculation that Viggo will follow up the infamous naked steam bath fight with a brawl taking place in a public restroom, without skin.
This story comes from a few small facts mentioned in a larger piece about producer Paul Webster at Deadline Hollywood. Expect specifics once this project is more officially announced.