There are innumerable tales of films in Tinseltown that were never finished due to a variety of reasons. But among the most strange and tragic cases is the follow-up to the classic Russell Crowe 1997 flick, L.A. Confidential, helmed by Curtis Hanson.
For those unfamiliar, this Warner Bros. film, which starred Crowe, Kevin Spacey, and Guy Pearce, was one of the greatest neo-noir crime works of the 1990s. Hanson and co-writer Brian Helgeland even shared the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for it. Also, the $126.2 million flick received rave reviews from critics as well as audiences, and fans were excited about a potential sequel.
However, the much-hyped follow-up to L.A. Confidential, starring Chadwick Boseman, never materialized. In one of his rare interviews, Helgeland expressed his frustration with the sequel pitch process, saying, “We pitched it to everyone.”
The Sequel That Never Was: Chadwick Boseman’s Greatest Missed Opportunity
L.A. Confidential, a worldwide hit that took in $126.2 million at the box office, is still praised as one of the greatest films of the 1990s (via The Numbers). Receiving an astounding 99% of positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Curtis Hanson’s film was a critical and commercial success, so it is hardly surprising that the director wanted to make a sequel to Russell Crowe’s starrer flick.
Screenwriter Brian Helgeland, who won an Oscar for his work in the neo-noir crime thriller L.A. Confidential, submitted a pitch to streaming behemoth Netflix along with Warner Bros., but it was turned down. A sequel that would have starred the late actor Chadwick Boseman alongside Guy Pearce and Russell Crowe in their original roles.
Helgeland even revealed during his speech at the Toronto International Film Festival that a Netflix executive had fallen asleep while the former was pitching the sequel (via Deadline):
“We pitched it to everyone. We had to go to Warner Bros first and Warner Bros is like we don’t make movies like this…Ellroy is a performance artist and he would do the pitch; and it was the most amazing pitch. Our executive at Netflix fell asleep during the pitch. They fell asleep and nodded off during the pitch. I got home and said ‘we can’t do that anymore’.”
Something that is sure to raise many eyebrows and cause people to wonder about the decisions made behind the scenes.
The thought of Russell Crowe, Pearce, and Boseman starring together in a Brian Helgeland-penned L.A. Confidential sequel is likely to be at the top of many people’s lists of ‘missed opportunities’. Unfortunately, the project will never be realized due to Helgeland’s experience with Netflix and the untimely death of Boseman.
Guy Pearce’s Insights on the Financial Hurdles of the L.A. Confidential Sequel
Guy Pearce talked with director Curtis Hanson about a potential L.A. Confidential sequel, but the project never got off the ground, according to an interview the actor did with GamesRadar+. The former shared:
“There was talk about whether we’d create something new, basically ten years on. 1963.”
The sequel “never went anywhere”, the Memento actor, 56, clarified, because it was “too expensive” and “too difficult”. Pearce added that he was unaware that Chadwick Boseman was set to play the lead role in the follow-up.
Well, all things considered, Pearce was “excited at the prospect that we could revisit these characters one day” and lamented that the project was never completed. Hanson passed away in 2016, which means that this intended sequel starring Boseman will never be made.
It is hard to avoid feeling sorrow for what might have been when we consider the amazing legacy of the Black Panther star and everything he contributed to the film industry.
Anyway, if you have not yet watched this masterpiece, stream L.A. Confidential on Netflix.
