Adam Wingard Exits ‘Face/Off 2’ Leaving Seque
A New Face Required: Adam Wingard Exits ‘Face/Off 2’ Leaving Sequel in Limbo
LOS ANGELES — Paramount’s long-gestating sequel to the 1997 action masterwork Face/Off has hit a significant creative speed bump. Adam Wingard, the director behind Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has officially vacated the director’s chair, leaving the follow-up to John Woo’s "balletic" thriller without a leader.
The news, first reported by Collider and confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter this weekend, marks a major shift for a project that has been in development for nearly five years. According to insiders, Wingard actually quietly stepped away from the film last summer in what is being described as a "mutual agreement" with the studio.
An "Open Assignment" at Paramount
With Wingard’s departure, Paramount Pictures has reportedly converted Face/Off 2 into an open directing assignment. This means the studio is effectively "wiping the slate clean," allowing new filmmakers to pitch their own unique visions for how to continue the saga of Sean Archer and Castor Troy.
While Wingard and his longtime writing partner Simon Barrett had already penned a script—one Wingard previously described as "fucking awesome"—it remains unclear if a new director will utilize that draft or start from scratch.
The "Three-Dimensional Chess" Pitch
Before his exit, Wingard had been vocal about his desire to bring back original stars Nicolas Cage and John Travolta, despite the definitive ending of the first film. Cage himself had previously teased a high-concept pitch for the sequel that moved beyond a simple 1-on-1 swap.
“I think Face/Off is a sequel that lends itself to a lot of twists and turns,” Cage told Collider last year. “If you factor in the idea of offspring... it becomes like three-dimensional chess. It’s not just the two of us, it’s four of us ping-ponging at different levels.”
Whether this "generational" approach survives the change in leadership is now the subject of intense speculation among the franchise's dedicated cult following.
Scheduling Conflicts and New Horizons
Industry analysts suggest that Wingard’s increasingly crowded schedule likely played a role in the split. The director is currently in post-production on the A24 action-thriller Onslaught and has been heavily linked to a live-action ThunderCats movie.
Additionally, while Wingard will not be returning for the next installment of the MonsterVerse (tentatively titled Supernova), his transition back to original, "grounded" indie-roots projects appears to have taken priority over the prolonged pre-production of the Paramount sequel.
The Legacy of the "Ham-Fest"
The original Face/Off remains a touchstone of 90s cinema, famous for its "nouveau shamanic" performances and John Woo’s signature slow-motion gunplay. For fans, the primary concern remains the involvement of the original leads.
“You can’t replicate the alchemy between Cage and Travolta,” noted one social media commentator following the news. “If Paramount tries to reboot this with 'hot young actors,' they’re missing the point of why we love it.”
As Paramount begins the search for a "new face" to lead the production, the clock is ticking on reuniting the original duo while the iron is still hot on Cage’s recent career renaissance.
