Johnny Depp's Rango 2 Could Happen—But There's One Big Catch
Fifteen years after the Oscar-winning Rango hit theaters, director Gore Verbinski says Johnny Depp’s chameleon could ride again—if one crucial condition is met.
Rango turns 15 this year, and yes, people still ask about a sequel. Director Gore Verbinski just weighed in again, and the short version is: it could happen, but only if someone shows up with the right size wallet.
So, could Rango 2 actually happen?
Verbinski says the first movie was mounted at the full-throttle scale of the big animated players, and that is the sticking point. In his words:
"We went after the big animated movies... we were in the range of the big animated movies."
He describes the original as a one-of-a-kind alignment of timing, money, and process that would be tough to recreate. The appetite is there; the economics are the catch. He puts it more bluntly:
"Somebody with a checkbook!"
What he has (repeatedly) said before
Back in 2017, during a fan Q&A while promoting A Cure for Wellness, Verbinski was asked about a sequel and gave a similar answer. The team poured everything into the original, which is partly why a second go-round would be tricky. As he put it:
"[We] put everything [we] possibly could into [the film]."
What Verbinski is cooking instead
He has talked about developing two animated projects with Rango cinematography consultant Roger Deakins (yes, that Roger Deakins, two Oscars on the shelf). Neither project is a Western, and one is a musical. As of now, there have been no major updates on either.
A quick Rango refresher
Rango, verbinski's only feature-length animated film to date, arrived in 2011 and won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. Johnny Depp voiced the title role, backed by Isla Fisher, Timothy Olyphant, Abigail Breslin, Ned Beatty, Bill Nighy, Alfred Molina, and more. The movie earned roughly $246 million worldwide on an estimated $135 million budget. Critics loved it (around an 88% critics score), audiences were solid if less giddy (about a 70% audience score).
Bottom line: Rango 2 is not a no. It is a yes, if someone writes a big enough check to make it at the scale Verbinski wants. Until then, the lizard waits.