Timur Bekmambetov: Dusk Watch on Hold

I have zero investment in the possibility that Timur Bekmambetov’s upcoming “Wanted” with Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy will be anything other than a mindless popcorn action movie, but for a while there, I did think the man had plenty of talent to spare, and was very interested in what he would do next. I am talking about, of course, 2004’s “Night Watch”, the Russian director’s breakthrough sci-fi/fantasy/horror film, and my introduction to him.

That film was supposed to be the first of a trilogy based on the novel “The Twilight Watch” by Sergei Lukyanenko. After doing the sequel, “Day Watch”, Bekmambetov has instead announced that there will be no third installment, aka “Dusk Watch” (also known as “Twilight Watch”), for the moment.

The folks at Row Three quotes the director as saying this at the recent New York Comic-Con:

“[Wanted] is my Dusk Watch for now,” the director said during the panel, “because it’s really the same chance, a different story, but the same genre. Unfortunately I don’t know when Dusk Watch will happen… Let’s say this is Dusk Watch.”

My guess? If “Wanted” is a hit and Bekmambetov’s Hollywood career takes off, “Dusk Watch” will be on hold for a long time. If his career fizzles, he’ll probably head back to Russia to do the third installment. There’s nothing like “going home” when Hollywood turns its back on you. Just ask John Woo, Jackie Chan, Jet Li, etc.