slice_clash_of_the_titans_movie_poster_banner_sam_worthington_01.jpg

After grossing $390 million worldwide (and counting), it should come as a surprise to no one that Warner Bros. is moving ahead with a sequel to Clash of the Titans.  Deadline reports that director Louis Leterrier will not return to helm the sequel.  However, Sam Worthington will reprise his role as Perseus and almost every actor whose character survived will return as well.  The studio is now rushing to get the film into production as it wants to make a spring 2012 release and get Worthington before the actor goes to shoot Avatar 2.

Hit the jump for my speculation on how Clash 2 will approach 3D this time around as well as news regarding a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth.

journey_to_the_center_of_the_earth_3d_movie_poster_onesheet_.jpg

I have yet to talk to someone who says that they liked the 3D in Clash of the Titans.  Maybe I just need to talk to more people.  But the box office numbers have clearly indicated that the crappy 3D conversion did not turn people off to the film (and apparently neither did badness of the movie itself).  First, I would like the sequel to be better in the story department since it all comes down to story.  But the larger talking point with this film is whether or not they'll shoot it in 3D.  I'm indifferent to 3D in general, but if you have to make your movie 3D, then it needs to be filmed in 3D and not converted in post-production.  The question is whether Warner Bros. will provide the extra time and money for a proper 3D shoot or if the current box office gross of the current film indicates that they can get away with a crap conversion and still have one of the highest grossing films of the year.

Switching gears, New Line and Walden Media are trying to set up a sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth for a release in fall 2011.  Here's what we reported on the possible sequel back in March of last year:

The new film will work from Richard Outten's script "Mysterious Travels: The Lost Map of Treasure Island" in which Professor Trevor Anderson (Brendan Fraser) and his nephew Sean (Josh Hutcherson) head to a mysterious island that was the subject of three novels: Jules Verne's "Mysterious Island", Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island', and Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels.

Deadline doesn't say whether or not this will still be the premise for the sequel.  The larger question is whether or not Brendan Fraser will return to star if the studio replaces Eric Brevig, who directed the original.  The reason Brevig isn't being brought back is that he's busy with Yogi Bear.  If Fraser refuses to do a sequel without Brevig, there's the possibility that the sequel could center on Josh Hutcherson's character.  But since the sequel will be somewhat expensive, it's a tad risky to move it forward without a star attached.

Personally, I'm indifferent to the prospect of a Journey to the Center of the Earth sequel, but I understand the appeal and the original is a solid family flick.  However, I hope they shoot this in 3D like they did with the original because that's the new rule of the thumb: If you're going to make your movie 3D, then shoot it in 3D; don't convert it.

Clash of the Titans image Sam Worthington.jpg