Harmony Korine rocked 2013 with Spring Breakers, a critically acclaimed orgy of sleaze that gave James Franco one of the best roles of his career and will probably turn out to be the best thing Selena Gomez was ever involved with. The film quickly garnered a much-deserved cult following, wound up on every single one of CraveOnline’s Best Films of 2013 lists, and now – surprise, surprise – it’s even getting a sequel… without the involvement of Harmony Korine, James Franco or any of the the rest of the original Spring Breakers cast.
Before you cry foul, yes, the news seems disconcerting. And it may very well turn out to be another one of those “name only” sequels that litter the dustier shelves of that video store you never actually go to anymore, but it may not. Variety reports that the sequel – Spring Breakers: The Second Coming – already has some very impressive talent behind it. Trainspotting and Filth author Irvine Welsh will write the screenplay, and Joseph Akerlund – who directed the cult favorite 2002 tweaker drama Spun – will direct the sequel, about a group of party girls who take up arms against a group of militant Christians who try to convert them.
We reserve the right to be skeptical, but damn if that doesn’t sound like a story that belongs in the exact same universe as Harmony Korine’s original Spring Breakers, and with that talent behind the camera, it might even be almost as good. Maybe.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and the host of The B-Movies Podcast and The Blue Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
