Dog Soldiers is one of the most beloved werewolf movies of all time, and perhaps the only truly classic example of that particular horror subgenre produced this century. But despite a cult following, some subtle worldbuilding, and a raucous ending (punctuated by a fun detail revealed as the credits roll), 18 years later, there’s still no sign of a sequel.
But that might be about to change. Neil Marshall and Kevin McKidd have had conversations about bringing Dog Soldiers 2 to life, and Sean Pertwee has revealed details about what the other two films in the a proposed Dog Soldiers trilogy might have looked like.
“There’s more of a chance now than ever before,” Marshall says. “There’s things in the works and we’re seeing what we can do. Certainly, myself and Kevin McKidd and [Dog Soldiers producer] Chris Figg are up for it to revisit this world. Over the past 18 years the question I get asked pretty much more than anything else is when are we going to get Dog Soldiers 2?’ Part of me thinks I’d like to go back and re-visit that world somehow. And if Kev’s up for it, then that would make it worthwhile for sure. So we’ll see. You never know.”
While Marshall is a little cagey, McKidd confirms that discussions around Dog Soldiers 2 are underway between him and the director, but is quick to point out “it’s just verbal between him and me at the moment.”
In the age of legacy sequels, a nearly two decade gap isn’t so crazy anymore. But it’s important to remember that there were plans for a sequel going back to the days of the original film. More than one, in fact.
“Initially, it was written as a trilogy,” Sean Pertwee says. “The second one was [about] the science of creating Dog Soldiers.”
Fans will remember that there’s plenty of werewolf DNA left around at the end of the first film, which would mean that there’s plenty to explore in the sequels. “The special ops come in and they do the scrape with DNA and they grow it in tubes and in the final film, we were to become Dog Soldiers, half men, half lycanthrope, which I thought would have been so super cool and we were all very excited by it,” Pertwee says.
Of course, it wasn’t to be.
“I think people tried to make a sequel without [Neil Marshall] being involved, so it wouldn’t have been the same movie,” Pertwee says. “That’s the thing about Neil. He walked away and I respect him for it. We would have loved to have done it…but I wish we had done it because a lot of people love the movie.”
McKidd has his own ideas about what Dog Soldiers 2 could look like.
“I think it could be fun again to revisit that character, 18 years on,” McKidd says. “We keep throwing around ideas of Cooper and the mental institution and he’s been locked up because he spent 18 year screaming and shouting that there’re werewolves in the woods, and sure enough they come back one day, and the marshals come and knock on his cell door and say, ‘We need your help.’”
Still, the actor cautions, “That could change, it’s just one idea. There are many ideas. Watch this space.”