{"id":143915,"date":"2025-11-20T01:19:08","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:19:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/143915\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T01:19:08","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T01:19:08","slug":"road-to-revenge-filmmaker-jalmari-helander-talks-trilogy-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/143915\/","title":{"rendered":"Road to Revenge\u2019 Filmmaker Jalmari Helander Talks Trilogy Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tIn 2023, I attended a press screening that malfunctioned beyond repair, and the theater apologized with a popcorn and drink, as well as entry to another film that was scheduled to start within a few minutes. So I took the plunge, sight unseen, and any lingering frustration from the evening\u2019s tech problems quickly went away due to how entertaining the complimentary screening was. That film was Jalmari Helander<\/a>\u2019s Sisu<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThe World War II action-thriller became something of a sleeper hit, prompting a sequel in short order. Sisu: Road to Revenge<\/a>, which hits theaters on Nov. 21, picks up a couple years after Aatami Korpi (Jorma Tommila), a former Finnish commando, laid waste to an entire Nazi platoon that dared to mess with the wrong guy. Aatami begins the sequel with a quest to dismantle his family\u2019s log cabin in what was once Karelia, Finland. The Finns had to cede this territory to the Soviet Union as part of the Moscow Armistice toward the end of World War II.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe rub is that the Soviets\u2019 Red Army murdered Aatami\u2019s family five years before the events of the first film, and he first created his legend as being immortal when he eliminated over 300 Russian soldiers as payback. Well, now that he\u2019s returned to Soviet-controlled land to retrieve his lumber and rebuild elsewhere, the Soviets seize the opportunity to finish off Aatami by recruiting the imprisoned Red Army commander (Stephen Lang\u2019s Yeagor Dragunov) who killed his family.<\/p>\n

\n\tHelander\u2019s second chapter offers up even more mayhem than the first film, but ends in a very emotionally satisfying way. While the Finnish writer-director would be happy to end the story here, he admits he has a threequel in mind.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI have some ideas. I also think that [Sisu: Road to Revenge] is a pretty beautiful ending to the story, but let\u2019s see what happens,\u201d Helander tells The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the meantime, he\u2019s prepping his First Blood<\/a> prequel, John Rambo<\/a>, for a January shoot. It\u2019s a natural next step for Helander, considering First Blood was a formative film during his childhood and the Sisu films wear Rambo<\/a>\u2018s influence on their sleeve. Noah Centineo will now be inhabiting the role of the traumatized Vietnam vet that Sylvester Stallone made famous across five films. Whether it\u2019s Rocky or now Rambo, Stallone has been reluctant to completely pass the torch in either of his franchises, so Helander is all the more motivated to make him proud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cOf course [I\u2019m motivated to make Stallone proud]. It\u2019s a big deal for me to actually do a Rambo film, and there\u2019s a lot of responsibility,\u201d Helander says. \u201cSo I\u2019m just trying to do the best I can with it, and I hope that\u2019s enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBelow, during a recent conversation with THR, Helander also discusses the mid-pandemic career crossroads that sparked Sisu, as well as directing his brother-in-law in the lead role of Aatami.<\/p>\n

\n\t***<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s the origin story behind this now franchise?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\t\u200b\u200bThere\u2019s a dark place where that came from. (Laughs.) I was trying to make a new feature film, and I wasn\u2019t happy with anything I was writing. And when I finally got one script ready, which took something like six years to do, the pandemic came and everything went to shit. I then realized that I needed to do something fucking cool, or I wouldn\u2019t do anything anymore. I then just wrote something without any expectation of selling it or making it. I wasn\u2019t thinking, \u201cIf I do this, I could easily get money.\u201d I just wrote something for myself, and I\u2019m lucky it worked. So that\u2019s the place where Sisu came from.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tDirector Jalmari Helander and his brother-in-law, Jorma Tommila, on the set of Sisu: Road to Revenge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSony Pictures<\/p>\n

\n\tYou cast your brother-in-law, Jorma Tommila, in the lead role of a former Finnish commando, Aatami Korpi. Has Jorma always been an intimidating figure to you?\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has, actually. I was a big fan of his as a young boy, long before I knew him. And when I found out that my big sister was starting to date Jorma, I was like, \u201cYes! I might have a way in now.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tYou\u2019ve cast him and his son, Onni Tommila, in several films, actually, so you\u2019re quite a good brother-in-law.<\/p>\n

\n\t(Laughs.) I\u2019m just lucky to know these guys.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tDoes Jorma ever try to add a line of dialogue here or there? Or does he love playing a silent character?<\/p>\n

\n\tNo, he definitely loves it. It\u2019s pretty hard at first to write without a lot of dialogue. But then you get used to it, and it becomes easier. And when you\u2019re actually shooting it, it\u2019s so much more satisfying to do a scene without dialogue. It forces you to think more cinematically. You have to explain things in pictures, and for some reason, it comes pretty natural and easy to me. If you have a big dialogue scene, you never know beforehand how it will play out. Maybe the dialogue doesn\u2019t work. So not having it feels more pure to me.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tJorma Tommila as Aatami Korpi in Sisu: Road to Revenge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSony Pictures<\/p>\n

\n\tAfter Aatami singlehandedly took out a Nazi platoon in the first film, you started with another sequel idea where he is called into service again by the Finnish Army. Did you actually script that initial idea?<\/p>\n

\n\tIt was never a finished script, but I had a story in mind, and I wrote it. My producer, Petri Jokiranta, said it really simply. He said that it\u2019s a different thing when you are called to do something. In the first film, Aatami was just minding his own business until somebody interfered with him. So having trouble find him just gives it a different flavor, and [Sisu 2] is better now that Aatami is not actively trying to avenge his family or go on a mission. Instead, he\u2019s doing what he needs to do, and then trouble finds him again.<\/p>\n

\n\tYou definitely found a better idea, because never in a million years did I think I\u2019d be rooting for a character to protect his lumber \u2014\u00a0the logs that made up the home where his now-slain family once lived.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I\u2019m really proud of that emotional side of the story. It elevates the film to a different level. I\u2019m also really happy that I could make a film where the craziness of the action and the emotion of Aatami can coexist in a way that\u2019s not too weird. So I\u2019m happy it worked.<\/p>\n

\n\tCompared to the first movie, I think you had double the budget this time. Could you breathe a little easier than you did on the first movie?<\/p>\n

\n\tI don\u2019t think it\u2019s ever easier. The money, the budget, fits the story. I had a bigger story, and I needed more money. But it\u2019s the same in a way because I still couldn\u2019t fuck around all day and improvise all kinds of shit. So the budget is always tight because it\u2019s connected to the story.<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a lot of dangerous stunts in this film. Which one had you the most on edge from behind your monitors?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere were a couple of big explosion scenes that took a lot of money, time and rehearsal. We basically devoted entire days to shoot these shots. If the explosion was supposed to happen in the evening, we\u2019d spend the whole day preparing for that one shot. We had only one take, and you just hope for the best. So it\u2019s pretty thrilling to watch it happen.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tStephen \u201cSlang\u201d Lang and director Jalmari Helander on the set of Sisu: Road to Revenge.<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSony Pictures<\/p>\n

\n\tStephen Lang is perfect casting for the villain role. He\u2019s the toughest 73-year-old on the planet, and his character, Dragunov a worthy foe for the 60-something Aatami. They mirror each other. Was he part of a pretty short list?<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen I was writing, I thought Dragunov would be younger and more of a physical threat in a way. But when the idea came up for Stephen Lang to be the villain, I immediately knew that it was a perfect idea. Jorma and \u201cSlang\u201d have some similarities. They\u2019re both easy to shoot, and when they\u2019re not saying or doing anything in particular, you still find it interesting to watch them. They both have a silent charisma that really works.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe big action is so clever, but the smaller moments are equally satisfying, such as the outstretched arms of the sleeping soldiers, or the devious, laughing pilot.<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, I\u2019m really happy about the train sequence. I thought, \u201cWhat would Steven Spielberg do if a character had to walk through a train car full of sleeping soldiers? What kind of problems would you have?\u201d So I spent a lot of time just imagining what could go wrong and what would make Aatami\u2019s quest more difficult and more entertaining. I then had a really good time making it because I\u2019ve never actually done anything quite like it. It\u2019s a pretty long scene where he\u2019s sneaking around, and while not much happens at first, I\u2019m glad I was able to add exciting and entertaining elements to it.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat\u2019s also unique about these films from an American perspective is that we\u2019re provided a different angle on World War II. It\u2019s interesting to see how the war affected smaller countries like Finland, both during and after.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tYeah, there were a lot of sad things going on during that period of time, and I hope we don\u2019t have to see that again.<\/p>\n

\n\tSisu: Road to Revenge ends in a surprisingly touching way. I wouldn\u2019t blame you for not wanting to make a third film, but there\u2019s still going to be demand for it. So how much have you thought about it?<\/p>\n

\n\tI have some ideas, so let\u2019s see what happens. I also think that [Sisu: Road to Revenge] is a pretty beautiful ending to the story, but let\u2019s see what happens.<\/p>\n

\n\tSisu was partially inspired by First Blood, and now you\u2019re making a prequel to First Blood called John Rambo, starring Noah Centineo as the title character. Sylvester Stallone is known for being territorial about his franchises, and he\u2019s earned that right. Has that only motivated you to make him proud? Has that motivated you to make an awesome movie so that he realizes this direction was the right call?<\/p>\n

\n\tOf course. It\u2019s a big deal for me to actually do a Rambo film, and there\u2019s a lot of responsibility. So I\u2019m just trying to do the best I can with it, and I hope that\u2019s enough.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhat elements from Sisu are you going to apply to John Rambo?<\/p>\n

\n\tThere\u2019s a lot of similarities between the Rambo and Aatami characters. Both of them are broken by war, and so there\u2019s going to be similarities.<\/p>\n

\n\t***
Sisu: Road to Revenge opens in theaters nationwide on Nov. 21.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In 2023, I attended a press screening that malfunctioned beyond repair, and the theater apologized with a popcorn…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":143916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[156,97061,39482,84577,409,111,139,69,29445,39484,97062],"class_list":{"0":"post-143915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-first-blood","10":"tag-jalmari-helander","11":"tag-john-rambo","12":"tag-movies","13":"tag-new-zealand","14":"tag-newzealand","15":"tag-nz","16":"tag-rambo","17":"tag-sisu","18":"tag-sisu-road-to-revenge"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=143915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/143915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/143916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=143915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=143915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=143915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}