Summary
- Vin Diesel teases that a sequel to The Last Witch Hunter is in development and reveals that playing Kaulder was very important to him.
- The Last Witch Hunter earned mostly negative reviews upon its release in 2015.
- The film was also a commercial disappointment, casting doubt on a sequel getting made at the same budget level.
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The Last Witch Hunter star Vin Diesel shares a new throwback image and teases The Last Witch Hunter 2. Released in 2015, the action fantasy film is directed by Breck Eisner, with Diesel starring as Kaulder, the last of his kind and the final line of defense between humanity and a plague created by witches. Despite being a dud with critics and not being particularly successful at the box office, Diesel has long teased a sequel.
In a new post on his Instagram account, Diesel shares a throwback image of himself in costume as Kaulder and teases The Last Witch Hunter 2. The actor stresses the importance of the role at that particular time in his life in addition to hinting that audiences haven't see the last of him. Check out his post and caption below:
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Throwback Thursday… I have been blessed to embody so many iconic characters… some universal, and some that only some of you know. It was an honor to bring an immortal to the screen for Lionsgate… someday I will explain where my head and heart was and why the character of Kaulder was so significant to me… it was a powerful moment in my life, as many of you know.
Can’t wait until you see where the immortal goes next.
All love, always…
Will The Last Witch Hunter 2 Actually Happen?
Why Vin Diesel's Follow-Up Isn't A Sure Thing
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Despite featuring actors like Michael Caine, Rose Leslie, and Elijah Wood in the cast, The Last Witch Hunter was a major critical disappointment. The film currently holds an 18% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, and the audience score isn't much better at 44%. Although the role is evidently important to Diesel, the reception to the film suggests it wasn't important to many others.
The Last Witch Hunter's user score on IMDb is also low at 5.9/10, though the user score is somewhat higher on Metacritic at 6.4/10.
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Made on a budget of between $80 million and $90 million, The Last Witch Hunter's worldwide haul of $146.9 million makes the film a commercial disappointment as well as a critical one. A general rule of thumb is that a Hollywood blockbuster needs to earn at least double its production budget to break even (to account for marketing, theaters' cuts, etc.) and, whether one takes the higher budget figure or the lower, the film didn't accomplish this. If a sequel does happen, then, Diesel might have to find a way to make it for less money.
Related
Vin Diesel is iconic as Fast & Furious' Dominic Toretto, but the casting would never have happened if one actor turned down the role first.
Another strike against Diesel – in addition to the accusations of sexual battery against him, which Diesel has denied – is that Fast X's box office performance last year hints that he might not be the audience draw he used to be. His previous non-franchise film, Bloodshot, was also a critical and commercial disappointment in 2020. Diesel is clearly optimistic about The Last Witch Hunter 2's chances in his post, but there's certainly reason to be skeptical that a sequel will ever actually happen.
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Source: Vin Diesel/ Instagram
The Last Witch Hunter
PG-13
Adventure
Action
Fantasy
The Last Witch Hunter follows the immortal warrior Kaulder (Vin Diesel), who wants to stop a powerful witch queen from unleashing a plague upon humanity. With the help of young sorceress Chloe (Rose Leslie) and priests Dolan 36th and 37th (Michael Caine and Elijah Wood), the veteran hero must navigate a dangerous world of magic and betrayal to save the world from destruction.
- Director
- Breck Eisner
- Release Date
- October 23, 2015
- Studio(s)
- Lionsgate
- Distributor(s)
- Lionsgate
- Writers
- Cory Goodman
- Cast
- Ólafur Darri Ólafsson , Rose Leslie , Vin Diesel , Julie Engelbrecht , Elijah Wood , Rena Owen
- Runtime
- 106minutes
- Sequel(s)
- The Last Witch Hunter 2
- Budget
- $90 million