After all these years the Boondock Saints sequel is finally coming out. After years of rumors and all the die-hard fan’s heartaches, it’s now actually making it’s way to the big screen. In light of this, here’s what one of the film’s stars Norman Reedus had to say about the original, the sequel and what can be expected.
How was Comic Con?
Norman Reedus: Comic Con was nuts! I mean when we got on stage there was a lot of screaming people and the line for our panel was like a mile long.
Did you know before how die-hard some fans are? There are some insane ones.
Norman Reedus: Yeah, I have had experiences with people coming up to me with tattoos on their arms and some crazy stuff. I knew that we were in for quite a ride.
Yeah, those fans are in many ways similar to the Twilight crowd at Comic Con.
Norman Reedus: Yeah, both Boondock and Twilight were big ones this year. I didn’t see any of the Twilight stuff, but I did a film up here called Meskada and I met Tyler [Lautner] who’s one of the Twilight guys and he said to me, “Oh my god, Boondock Saints! I love that movie!” So I ended up giving him a sweatshirt. (laughs)
Did you actually ever think the sequel was going to happen?
Norman Reedus: I thought it would, but I just never knew when. I couldn’t see how it couldn’t happen since it has a big fan base.
When the first film was made was there actually ever talk of doing a sequel?
Norman Reedus: Yeah, of course. We all talked about it and we even talked about doing a third one while shooting this one. There was always talk.
Was it odd jumping back into character after all these years?
Norman Reedus: Yeah, it was really weird. I mean it’s like riding a bike, we were really excited to be there doing it. Especially for Troy since it’s his vision and his script — this is great for him.
What do you think fans will be most pleased with in the sequel?
Norman Reedus: I think in the first one there were some loose ends that were kind of left out. A lot of those things are now tied in. I keep getting asked a lot of questions about this stuff and I have to keep my mouth shut. (laughs) There’s a lot of surprises — there’s going to be dozens of surprises.
It’s certainly tough to live up to some expectations and top a first film. Do you think the sequel will do that and be better than the first?
Norman Reedus: Better, it’s got all the same elements plus a hundred more. It’s stronger, heavier, the music is better and everything is bigger and better about it. It’s going to be better. I know that’s hard to say since I’m not a fan of sequels, but this one is actually better. There are new elements in this one. It’s still a Duffy movie, has the same sense of humor and the same vigilante attitude. It’s bigger and badder.
You have already been in a good sequel too — Blade II was pretty good.
Norman Reedus: Yeah! I thought Blade II was better than Blade… It’s funny, because I did Deuces Wild after Blade II and Stephen Dorff was kind of like my enemy in that movie. We would always be making jokes about which Blade is better. When Blade II came out it blew it out of the water. It made more money and was much cooler. Guilermo [Del Toro] is such a cool director.
Yeah, you also worked with him on Mimic.
Norman Reedus: I did. Mimic was my first film and he got me my first part. When he was going to do Blade II he said he wanted to have a meeting and he told me, “I know you like to do these weird little indie movies that nobody sees.” I was like, “what the f*** are you talking about Guilermo?” (laughs) Then he asked me if I would do it and he told me I’m Skud, showed me some sculptures, then I became Skud. I would do anything for Guilermo.
What do you think makes Boondock Saints different than most action movies?
Norman Reedus: Well, I think that the fan base — I think when people tell other people about a movie, especially since it didn’t really go to theaters, they feel as if they’re discovering something. It was like an underground hit and I’ve actually seen people pass it to friends. It’s the fans that allowed us to do part two and it’s the fans that made the first one big. They feel like they’re a part of it and they are.
As a director from a storytelling standpoint and visual sense, how has Troy changed?
Norman Reedus: He’s really been fined tuned since the first one; he’s really become a better director. He was a good director to begin with; he’s levelheaded and sees things from every angle. He’s matured, he’s ten years older and he’s been in this business. I think Troy has learned a lot of lessons and has tackled this one head-on.
You’ve worked with some pretty accomplished directors with Ridley Scott and Del Toro, would you say working with talents like that you learn something as an actor?
Norman Reeuds: Yeah, the thing with working with Del Toro is that he’s like a big kid. He’s behind the monitor always moving around shouting “pow, pow,” during the action scenes. He’s a lot of fun and the enthusiasm that he brings is great. Ridley Scott is a pro; you definitely learn something from him. You even learn from some of the bad ones.
Do you there’s any chance of a Boondock Saints fan being disappointed?
Norman Reedus: No, not at all. I think they’re going to be blown away by it and at the end of the movie they’re going to flip out.
