A sequel to last year’s buzzworthy Spring Breakers is in the works.  Ahead of the Cannes Film Festival market, where studios look to sell rights to potential projects in the hopes of getting them off the ground, ScreenDaily reports that Wild Bunch is developing Spring Breakers 2.  The story of the follow-up, titled Spring Breakers: The Second Coming, will find the titular Spring Breakers doing battle “with an extreme militant Christian sect that attempts to convert them.”  Filmmaker Harmony Korine—the creative driving force behind the first film—is not attached to direct or write the sequel, and it appears that the film won’t be that closely tied to the first movie at all.

Hit the jump for more, including who will be taking the helm of the sequel.

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Per ScreenDaily, Swedish filmmaker Jonus Akerland (Spun) will direct Spring Breakers 2 from a script by Irvine Welsh, the author of Trainspotting and Filth.  Wild Bunch co-chief Vincent Maraval says Spring Breakers 2 is “not a direct sequel, although there are allusions to some of the characters in the original.”  Maraval added that The Second Coming will be a mix of new and old cast, though without Korine writing and directing it’ll be interesting to see which actors decide to return.  Given that James Franco seems game to try just about anything, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him at least make a cameo appearance.

There’s no word on when production might begin, but it looks like Spring Breakers: The Second Coming is more of a spinoff than a genuine sequel, with Wild Bunch looking to cash in on the buzz of the first movie without much (or any) of the creative talent returning.  It’s disappointing that the follow-up is moving forward without Korine, but I’m curious to see if any of the main actors from the first film return or if this will come together like more of a direct-to-DVD sequel.