Filming has begun in Oahu, Hawaii for Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, the sequel to the 2008 release Journey to the Center of the Earth. Josh Hutcherson (The Kids Are All Right) will reprise his role from the original, with Dwayne Johnson (The Other Guys) and Michael Caine (Inception) set to co-star along with Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical), Luis Guzman (Nothing Like the Holidays) and Kristin Davis (Couples Retreat). Brad Peyton (Cats and Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore) is set to direct the 3D family flick.
Hit the jump for the official announcement, plus some of my thoughts.
This method of revamping and "kiddifying" classic Jules Verne novels may not exactly be my cup of cinematic tea... but considering that the first film wasn’t completely without its charms, I suppose there’s no harm in giving it another shot. And come on -- who hasn’t, at some point in their lives, desired to see Sir Michael Caine in glorious three dimensions? That’s what I thought.
Journey 2: The Mysterious Island is set for release September 23, 2011.
Here's the official press release:
Production Underway on New Line Cinema’s 3D Family Adventure “Journey 2: The Mysterious Island”
Dwayne Johnson, Michael Caine, Josh Hutcherson, Vanessa Hudgens, Luis Guzman and Kristin Davis to Star.
Filming has begun on location in Oahu, Hawaii, for the 3D family adventure "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island," directed by Brad Peyton ("Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore").
Josh Hutcherson will reprise his role as young adventurer Sean Anderson in this exciting follow-up to the 2008 worldwide hit "Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D," the first live-action film ever to be shot in digital 3D. Dwayne Johnson stars as Sean's stepfather, Hank Parsons; Michael Caine as Sean's grandfather, Alexander Anderson; Vanessa Hudgens and Luis Guzman as a father-daughter tour guide team; and Kristin Davis as Sean's mom, Liz Anderson.
The new journey begins when Sean receives a coded distress signal from a mysterious island where no island should exist - a place of strange life forms, mountains of gold, deadly volcanoes, and more than one astonishing secret. Unable to stop him from going, Sean's new stepfather joins the quest. Together with a helicopter pilot and his beautiful, strong-willed daughter, they set out to find the island, rescue its lone inhabitant and escape before seismic shockwaves force the island under the sea and bury its treasures forever.
"Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" is being produced by Beau Flynn & Tripp Vinson, and Charlotte Huggins from a screenplay by Mark Gunn & Brian Gunn, story by Richard Outten. Serving as executive producers are Michael Bostick, Evan Turner, Marcus Viscidi, Richard Brener, Samuel J. Brown and Michael Disco.
The creative filmmaking team includes director of photography David Tattersall ("Gulliver's Travels"), production designer Bill Boes ("Fantastic Four"), costume designer Denise Wingate ("Wedding Crashers") and Academy Award© nominated visual effects supervisor Boyd Shermis ("Poseidon").
Beginning in January 2011, production will move to Wilmington, North Carolina, to finish shooting after the holiday hiatus, and is scheduled to wrap principal photography in February 2011.
"Journey 2: The Mysterious Island" is a New Line Cinema presentation, a Walden Media and Contrafilm production and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.