When District B-13 was released in the US last August, the future based actionfest quickly came and went (a total theater bow of 151 and a little over $1 million in ticket sales didn’t help), despite the bone-chipping “Holy jumpin’ Frenchmen! Did you see that?” viral clip that probably made it into your inbox at about the same time (which you can see here). While a wider American audience didn’t embrace B13 like similarly produced The Transporter, B13 did receive critical love, good word of mouth via cinefile circles and a moderately decent international run. (And, in a testament to the strength of its action, B13 recently inspired the opening street running set piece in Casino Royale.)
With an action heavy IV drip supporting a plot about a guy whose sister is kidnapped by a drug lord who has also set a nuclear bomb to go off in Paris’ City of God-like District B13, (and the fact everyone speaks French), it’s no surprise Luc “He Did That, Too?” Besson produced the film. In a recent interview with the Comingsoon.net folks, Besson revealed there’s a sequel to District B13 in the works. And he’s writing it. Quite possibly at this very minute.
Most of the story/director details are still wrapped up in the nebulous gel of preproduction. Needless to say, Besson liked the characters and is planning a visit back to the Parisian future. Good news for action fans. Great News for B13 fans.
If you missed District B13, the DVD was released on Region 1 DVD September 5, 2006. If you’re an impulse kind of guy/gal- you can buy it here.