Max Landis Talks 'Chronicle 2': Says Josh Trank Unlikely To Direct, Matt Will Return

It would seem with the glut of superhero movies it's becoming increasingly challenging to tell the story of someone possessing great powers and learning how to deal with them in a fresh and original way, but writer Max Landis and director Josh Trank did just that with "Chronicle." The duo imbued the familiar story of teenagers acquiring some extraordinary skills and pitched it against the pain of adolescene with stakes that weren't rooted in some kind of grand plot against the world (indeed, there was no real villain) but instead in the emotional turmoil of the characters. And thrown against some incredibly exciting set pieces, it was definitely one of the most fun times we've had at the movies so far this year.

Inevitably, a sequel is now in the works with Landis hired back last month by Fox to write the script. And he's already got a clear idea of where he's going to take the story next and he reveals that part two will deal with the fallout of these powers being discovered by the public at large. "The movie you saw [Chronicle] in the sequel, is a thing. That edited footage … is a thing. So it’s not like ‘we found this footage after these kids died’. You can’t deny cars being thrown in the air in Seattle. You saw all those helicopters. The world changed. That’s the end of 'Chronicle.' And things are going to be different now. They can’t possibly cover up what happened," Landis told TBreak (via STYD).

It's a smart approach to take and one that certainly opens up all kind of story possibilities. And it seems the kid at the center of it all at the end of the film **spoilers ahead** Matt, who saw his cousin die in the brutal conclusion to the film, will return. "I loved Matt, and I felt really bad for him because I understood just how emotionally lazy he is and how he doesn’t really do what he’s doing. And that’s why I’m putting him through hell in ['Chronicle'] 2," Landis teased.

And while we're curious to see where it will go next, Trank likely won't be back in the director's chair for the sequel, though he'll probably wind up as a producer. That's not really too surprising considering his hesitation about doing a sequel, not to mention he's been courted for some higher profile super hero movies including a Venom spinoff and the brewing "Fantastic Four" reboot, in addition to an adaptation of the graphic novel "The Red Star." We'd wager he's eager to sink his teeth into something different. But Landis seems to have a good handle on where to take this next, and hopefully this one will be moving sooner rather than later.