Three years ago, Gerard Butler and Mike Colter teamed up for Plane, a lean, mid-budget action thriller about a commercial pilot forced to ally with a suspected murderer after an emergency landing strands them in hostile territory. The film struck a chord with audiences, earning largely positive reviews and pulling in $74.5 million worldwide against a modest $25 million budget. That was more than enough to justify a sequel to Plane, one blessed with an equally subtle, straight-to-the-point title: Ship.
But just two weeks before production was set to begin, the Plane sequel hit unexpected turbulence.
Mike Colter on the Plane Sequel
While speaking with The Direct, Colter explained that the sequel has been scrapped, apparently due to Gerard Butler. “It just, last-minute, Gerard [Butler] decided he didn’t want to go forward with it and there wasn’t a lot of discussion about it,” he said. “He just… two weeks out, he pulled out and we were sort of left trying to figure out what to do. And eventually, that dissolved.“
Colter added that the sequel would have picked up where the first film left off. “What happened to that character, and how’d he get off the island,” he said. “That was where we were gonna go with it. So, I was excited about it.“
Colter’s character, former French Foreign Legionnaire Louis Gaspare, was set to take center stage this time around. The sequel would have followed Gaspare as he sneaks aboard a cargo ship bound for South Africa, only to discover the vessel is transporting victims of a human trafficking ring. Teaming up with the ship’s second mate—a last-minute hire unaware of the operation—and a passenger with military experience and a personal score to settle, Gaspare would have embarked on a mission to overthrow the corrupt captain, protect innocent passengers, and free the captives.
Butler’s character was only ever intended to appear in a cameo capacity. However, as executive producer under his G-BASE banner, Butler ultimately had the final say on whether the sequel moved forward. And with his decision to step away, Ship never left port.
You can check out a review of Plane from our own Chris Bumbray right here.
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