Steven Spielberg slams ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ sequel: “I’m not a big fan”
Steven Spielberg has slammed the movie 2010: The Year We Made Contact, the sequel to 2001: A Space Odyssey, as he said, “I’m not a big fan”.
The follow-up film was made in 1984 as a continuation of the plot from Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic, but this time with Peter Hyams taking the helm as director, based on the novel 2010: Odyssey Two by Arthur C Clarke.
However, when appearing on the latest episode of The Rewatchables podcast to celebrate the filmic legacy of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Spielberg took aim at the sequel, seeing it as far inferior to its predecessor.
“Yeah, I’m not a big fan of the next 2001 movie they made,” the director confessed, going on to explain how he felt it somewhat ruined the iconic lasting legacy of the original film.
“I really wanted to be left in my imagination when the Star Child turns and looks at the Planet Earth,” he said. “I wanted to leave it at that. I just wanted to be able to have that image exist without any possible film follow up.”
As the discussion continued, Spielberg expressed how he was unimpressed by the explanations that 2010: The Year We Made Contact offered in terms of the monolith that appears at the end of the first film.
“For me that’s mundane, because it’s a mundane thing to start to explain and start to throw out other plot lines,” he added, making it clear that 2001: A Space Odyssey is the only film he sees as being worthy of acclaim.
The movie, released in 1984 and starring Roy Scheider, Helen Mirren, Bob Balaban, and John Lithgow, received a mixed response from critics and only managed to gross $40.4 million at the US box office against its $28 million budget.
For his own part, turning his attention to his sci-fi movies, Spielberg was quick to confirm that his latest movie Disclosure Day has not been made with the influence of the “deep state”, despite rumours and conspiracy theories currently circulating about this.
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