VALHALLA RISING is not for everyone. Hell, Nicolas Winding Refn isn't for everyone. That said, if you are a fan of either (or both), then this news may speak to you. Refn, speaking to Indiewire, indicated that he had spoken to VALHALLA RISING's star Mads Mikkelsen about the film, saying it was:
"about revisiting the [One-Eye] character from ‘Valhalla Rising’ again to kind of complete… because there’s a similarity between ‘Valhalla Rising,’ ‘Drive’ and ‘Only God Forgives.’ But in a way I had this idea of Mads Mikklesen to go back to the origins of this character. But make the movie in Tokyo.”
When asked how that would be possible as a sequel, Refn cryptically said, “Tokyo is a world onto itself.” Refn seemed to be keeping details close to the chest, but when pressed further, said that the film would be “About the future…”
I could see a lot of possibility in this, strangely, as Refn's style could easily translate a hybrid, futuristic sequel to VALHALLA RISING. He's got just the right amount of odd flair to pull that off. Given the fate of Mikkelsen's "One Eye" in the original film it will be very ambiguous to see how Refn makes another go, especially in the future.
Refn is set to begin work on the Barbarella TV series, and it's unclear whether he plans on tackling the VALHALLA RISING sequel or his long-planned "sex film" I WALK WITH THE DEAD with Carey Mulligan.
Refn's ONLY GOD FORGIVES, starring Ryan Gosling, is set to open on July 19, 2013.