The alternative ‘Speed’ sequel that was never made
Even though it was essentially ‘Die Hard on a bus’, Speed nonetheless turned out to be one of the greatest action movies to ever come out of Hollywood in its own right, which made a sequel an inevitability.
In his directorial debut, Jan de Bont put everything he’s learned about the genre through his time spent as a cinematographer on the likes of Die Hard, The Hunt for Red October, and Lethal Weapon 3 to phenomenal use. The end result is a propulsive white-knuckle thrill ride that never lets up from its opening scene.
Bolstered by Keanu Reeves’ stoic central performance, the crackling chemistry he creates opposite Sandra Bullock and Dennis Hopper’s supremely deranged villain, the various pieces perfectly aligned to deliver a nonstop rollercoaster of stunts, shootouts, explosions, and excitement. Naturally, once Speed had been released to rave reviews and bumper box office in the summer of 1994, studio 20th Century Fox began pushing hard for a sequel. Bullock signed on to reprise her role as Annie Porter, but Reeves’ refusal to return as Jack Traven effectively signed the follow-up’s death warrant, especially when Jason Patric was drafted in as his vapid and charisma-free replacement.
Countless pitches were thrown Jan de Bont’s way for the story, but he ignored them all in favour of focusing Speed 2: Cruise Control around a recurring nightmare he’d been having over a ship crashing into a heavily populated island. It was an undeniably impressive stunt – and the most expensive ever staged at the time – but everything that surrounded it was abysmal.
Cruise Control was incinerated by critics, lost a fortune for Fox, and found itself shortlisted for eight Golden Raspberry Awards. It was a disaster in every sense of the word, then. While original screenwriter Graham Yost wasn’t involved in the writing process, he did reveal that he had two major ideas, both of which sound superior to what Speed 2 ended up becoming.
“I had one on a boat that was going to be called Full Speed and one on a plane that was going to be called High Speed,” he revealed on the Script Apart podcast before sharing additional insight into what each pitch would entail. “High Speed was another bad guy, and you can’t drop below 10,000 ft,” Yost continued. “You’re running out of fuel, and you’re headed into the Andes. Now, what do you do?”
Ironically, one of his concepts featured a boat, but de Bont was evidently more interested in the literal manifestations of his dreams. “Full Speed was going to be transporting munitions left over from the Vietnam War on a boat in the Pacific Ocean, and they hit a storm,” he explained. “But they find out it’s got phosphorus in it, and if water hits it, it’s going to blow up.” They both sound undeniably silly, to be frank, but they also sound much better than the interminable slog that was Speed 2.
