Gerard Butler’s action thriller Plane is no longer getting a sequel, according to his co-star. The original 2023 film follows Butler’s commercial pilot character as he teams up with a suspected murderer after an emergency landing, with the two trying to save passengers in hostile territory.
Shortly after it was released, a sequel called Ship was announced, with fellow lead Mike Colter due to return and Butler back in a producing role.
However, Colter has now confirmed that the project is dead in the water, with Butler pulling the plug just weeks before a filming start date.
“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 told The Direct. “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.”
Opening up further about the story plans, Colter shared that the sequel was “basically picking up where we left off, what happened to that character, and how’d he get off the island”, adding that he “was excited about it”.
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It was previously confirmed that Ship would see Colter’s character Louis Gaspare board a cargo ship to escape the Philippines, though he quickly discovers that it is being used for human trafficking.
The story would find him teaming up with the second mate to take down the ring, as well as confront the corrupt captain and free the victims.
Plane, which sits at a 78% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes, was called a “first-rate action thriller” that “breathlessly packs its punches in spades” by the Observer: “It’s a satisfying rush of suspenseful excitement that is several notches above its competitors in the same genre.”
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Detroit News wrote: “Sections of the movie recall Die Hard 2 in the best way possible, as Plane delivers thrills and excitement that belie its generic title.”
However, Empire was less positive, saying: “As that Ronseal title suggests, Plane is rarely on the good side of trash. But at least Gerard Butler and Mike Colter offer some solid action-star appeal.”
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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International. Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every ‘t’ and dotting every ‘i’ as a sub-editor.