NEW SEQUEL TO 1993 SYLVESTER STALLONE MOVIE TO START FILMING THIS FALL

The 1990s left a legacy of action films that leaned heavily on stunt work and practical effects. The genre was defined by thrillers like Sylvester Stallone's Cliffhanger, which is now confirmed for a sequel more than 30 years later.

Cliffhanger 2 is moving forward after receiving more than $5.5 million in funding from the Australian Film Commission, per Screen Daily. The project received a boost of over $2 million in 2023 from FFF Bayern, a German production fund. The sequel starts filming in September or October with Jean-François Richet (Assault on Precinct 13, Mesrine: Killer Instinct) as director; Mark Bianculli (Hunters) is developing the screenplay. The film was confirmed as early as April 2023 with Ric Roman Waugh (Snitch, Angel Has Fallen) initially at the helm. Sylvester Stallone is reprising his role as Ranger Gabriel "Gabe" Walker from the 1993 original, and per plot details, the sequel finds him pursuing the same passion.

Cliffhanger Director Reveals Iconic Singer Nearly Played the Villain

Sylvester Stallone would have duked it out with a legendary singer in 1993s Cliffhanger if the artists casting pushed through for the movie.

Cliffhanger 2's official plot reveals that "Gabe is now living in the Dolomites where he runs an exclusive mountain lodge. When he and a high-profile client are taken hostage during an adventurous weekend trip, his daughter has to use all her climbing skills to outwit the kidnappers, triggering a battle of life and death." The update has not confirmed casting details, but the plot suggests Gabe's daughter is likely his child with Jessie Dieighan (played by Janine Turner), his girlfriend in the first film; Michael Rooker is also expected to return as Gabe's best friend Hal Tucker. The 1993 original stood out as one of the decade's best action thrillers in terms of stunts and practical effects, setting high benchmarks for the sequel.

Cliffhanger Was Filmed With Practical Stunts And Effects

Cliffhanger director Renny Harlin recently shared his expectations from the sequel. He hoped the film would be faithful to the original's production approach, which never had the luxury of using digital effects. "I hope they don’t try to replace what we did with a lot of CG," he told ComingSoon.net. "Because I think the audience will be able to tell that we did everything for real. We shot at 12,000 foot peaks in the Italian Alps. It was real stuff, like the opening sequence with the girl falling. It was done for real. That was at 8,000 feet, that wire."

Harlin added, "It’s so easy for the studios to say now, 'We’ll do everything blue screen and create everything digitally.' I hope they don’t do that because it deserves a sequel with the same spirit of the original."

10 Best Sylvester Stallone Movies (That Arent Rocky Films)

Sylvester Stallone is one of the most recognizable actors, thanks in large part to the Rocky films, but he's starred in many more great movies.

Cliffhanger received criticism from the rock-climbing community, which pointed out inaccurate and fabricated depictions of the sport. The film can't be faulted for its stuntwork, however; the Guinness Book of World Records lists Cliffhanger as having the costliest air stunt, which involved stuntman Simon Crane performing a rope climb between two planes mid-air. He received $1 million for that sequence. Despite the rise of digital effects, stuntwork is still a thriving art in modern cinema, as proven by homages to the craft in films like The Fall Guy, Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One, and the John Wick series.