Phantom of the Opera Sequel in the Works

Andrew Lloyd Webber, iconic composer of our time, has joined the ranks of the great filmmakers of our time, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, in totally ruining his reputation by making a sequel to Phantom of the Opera.

Knowing when to stop has always been a challenge. The trilogy was so good, a fourth movie would really round it out, is a tempting logic but a flawed logic. We had so much fun making the first one, it would be great to make another does disservice to the plot. Why try to sell a new plot and new characters when I can build off the profits of the world's most successful Broadway play? While that's a great way to make money, it doesn't make for the best plot.

The plot to Phantom of the Opera: Love Never Dies (really): a decade after his last curtain call, the Phantom takes refuge with a freak show in Coney Island, New York, and gets back together with Christine by anonymously inviting Raul, Christine and their child to a show there called Phantasma. That's it.

Movies with love children from the hero/heroine of the initial film never work (reference The Mummy 2), so that scares me, but otherwise, it is a pretty clever plot. What concerns me more so, is the original Phantom was based on a book by Gaston Leroux, while this one is based on a book that was co-written by Webber called The Phantom of Manhattan. Apparently the book somehow incorporates Teddy Roosevelt into the plot. No word on whether he'll have a singing role. Also, if the creative juices that went into the James-Bond-esque title are any indication of the script, I fear the worst.

Other sequels that didn't pan out: Saturday Night Fever 2, Staying Alive (directed by Sylvester Stallone); Star Wars 4-6; Indiana Jones 4 and 5 (in the works); Boondock Saints 2; Matrix 2 and 3; Grease 2; and oh so many more.