Back in 2018, the sci-fi thriller Upgrade landed in theaters without much fanfare. The movie starred Logan Marshall-Green, who is far from a household name, and was directed by Leigh Whannell, who was largely only known in the genre world and hadn’t yet delivered monster-movie reboots like The Invisible Man and Wolf Man. Still, the movie earned strong reviews when it was released and, over the years, has grown a cult following for its blend of thrills and sci-fi tech. Various updates over the years even confirmed that plans were in place for a sequel TV series, only for those plans to vanish, seemingly never to be revived.
Hammering home the idea that we’ll get to revisit this world is that star Marshall-Green recently shed some insight into what a follow-up story was set to explore. Speaking with ScreenRant, the actor confessed:
“It’s just so prescient too, and it’s so germane to what’s happening now. I do feel like it deserves another shot. There was another iteration where they kind of decided, ‘No, wait, let’s go back and pick up right after the movie, and let’s focus on Grey.’ And it had some incredible auteurs and show creators, and I just don’t think it was able to get to the one-yard line, for whatever reason.”
In the original movie, Marshall-Green played Grey, a man who became paralyzed in a car accident. A promising tech mogul implanted a chip on Grey’s spine, which restored his mobility. The tradeoff, though, is that Grey didn’t get to have complete autonomy over his own body, blurring the line between man and machine.
While revealing details about the planned sequel might understandably prevent those plans from being realized, Marshall-Green actually hopes the opposite happens, and that by spreading the word about the project, it could result in renewed interest.
“I’m glad we’re talking about it, because it just puts it out there, and I know Leigh and I would work together in a snap. I loved working with Leigh, he was an incredible creative,” the actor expressed. “Not a lot of people saw it, but it’s become its own creature, cult creature. I get a lot of Upgrade love, I won’t lie, and I adore it, because I love that film, and I loved shooting that film.”
The movie was produced by Blumhouse, which has built a reputation for offering filmmakers a limited production budget – larger than most indie movies but still much smaller than your average studio offering – and seeing how they resonate with audiences. The result has been things like Insidious, Sinister, The Purge, Get Out, The Black Phone, and M3GAN. This gamble isn’t always a success, however, as the studio has also delivered disappointments like Night Swim, Imaginary, and Truth or Dare.
Still, the initial reaction from genre enthusiasts and the growing support of Upgrade makes it seem like whatever Whannell and Marshall-Green delivered would satisfy those who have waited nearly a decade for more stories in this universe.
Upgrade
- Release Date
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June 1, 2018
- Runtime
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100 minutes
