Richard Linklater is talking about a Boyhood sequel

BOYHOOD may have only picked up a single Oscar last night but I trust we have only began to see the real impact the film will have on the industry and future filmmaking. It shouldn't come as much as a surprise either, knowing even a little about how the industry works, that talk of a sequel is making the rounds. Richard Linklater made a film over the course of 12 years; you would probably guess that the director wouldn’t want to take on that kind of schedule again. He also has that wonderful BEFORE SUNRISE trilogy that he worked on for nearly twenty years. So sure he can do sequels, but would he do another one like BOYHOOD?

He said "no" before, during the movies premiere at Sundance, but in a recent interview via The Playlist, Linklater admitted that he’s been thinking about the idea of a BOYHOOD sequel:

"To be honest… this film first met its audience exactly a year ago and for the first six months of the year, my answer to that was absolutely not. This was twelve years, it was first grade through 12th grade; it was about getting out of high school. I had no idea about another story, there’s nothing to say. It hadn’t crossed my mind. But I don’t know if it’s been a combination of finally feeling that this is over or being asked a similar question a bunch over the last year, that I thought, well, I wake up in the morning thinking, ‘the 20s are pretty formative, you know?’ That’s where you really become who you’re going to be. It’s one thing to grow up and go to college, but it’s another thing to… So, I will admit my mind has drifted towards [this sequel idea]."

When word came out that Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy, and Linklater had surprise in the way of BEFORE MIDNIGHT, people including myself were ecstatic. When we learned Linklater and company had filmed a movie over 12 years, we were stunned. So the idea of a sequel, while interesting, may not have the initial appeal than say another grand surprise from the filmmaker. He talked about the possible structure anyway:

"The twelve years [structure] came out of [school structure]. It wouldn’t have to be twelve years. It wouldn’t have to be… I mean, who knows. I mean, if I learned anything on the Before trilogy it took five years to realize that Jesse and Celine were still alive and had anything to say. This one would probably be more accelerated, but who knows."

Linklater did go on to say that nothing was official, it all depends on whether he has something to say:

"I’ve dealt with this before… I have, in my movies, touched on people in their 20s. So to what degree I’ll be going over certain territories again—I dunno, It’s impossible to say what may or may not come of it… I would love to keep working with this cast and I think we all would. But that can’t be the primary reason to do it. You always need something to say. You can’t do it just cause you want to work with your friends, you gotta have something really inside you you’re trying to communicate about those years. I might happen, but I dunno, it’s in the ether in the moment."

His next film, THAT’S WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT opens later this year and was described as a sequel to both DAZED & CONFUSED and BOYHOOD. It revolves around a college freshman entering independent life for the first time. He may get to delve into the 20s as much as he can there, so that’s promising. Never doubt the journey that Linklater will take you on with his films; you better believe we still have a long way to go with him.

Would you be interested in a BOYHOOD sequel?