I’m not going to waste time explaining to you how wonderful Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive is*. Enough people have done that already. It is (and will most definitely remain) in my Top 3 of the year and I’m sure it will be popping up all over the top spots of “Best of the Year” lists in less than a month. For those who haven’t seen it, whether you end up liking it or not, it is well-worth your time.
Some of you might not be aware of the fact that Drive was based on a novella by James Sallis. I actually read the book years ago, though I didn’t recall much about it beyond the basic details before seeing the film. I do remember really enjoying it though and I’ve been meaning to check out some of Sallis’ other works recently. The man has at least 13 other novels for me to choose from, but I think I’ll go ahead and wait for his next effort to begin my exploration of his works….
Yep, that’s right, James Sallis has written a sequel. Driven is currently scheduled to be published in April. Normally one might attribute the penning of a sequel to the success of the recent film, which doubled its budget domestically. This is not the case. Sallis was apparently well on his way to finishing his first draft when Refn’s masterpiece hit screens a few months ago. Here’s a brief synopsis of the follow-up…
Six years later – Phoenix. Out of nowhere someone wants Driver dead. Who? Why? Big mistake…
He certainly has my attention. The real question here is whether or not Nicolas Winding Refn will consider adapting it. I have a hunch that he will. Refn has already teased the possibility in recent interviews and he had to be aware of the upcoming novel. His main focus seems to be on shooting the three projects he already has cooking (Only God Forgives, I Walk With The Dead, Logan’s Run), but don’t be surprised if he circles back around to do this at some point. Given their now-continued collaboration, I suspect Gosling will return as well. Refn has stated that if he makes a sequel, it will involve “two drivers”. I wonder if he knows something about Driven that we don’t?
Source | Lit Reactor
* – It was almost made back in 2009 as a more straight-forward actioner starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Neil Marshall. For whatever reason, that never happened. As fun as that would have been, I’m glad things turned out the way they did.