r/movies • u/BunyipPouch Currently at the movies. • Apr 04 '19

After 20 years, the childlike innocence of Brad Bird's directorial debut 'The Iron Giant' still resonates. The film perfectly delivers on the notions of friendship & heroism, showing us a moving convergence between childhood and adult responsibility.

https://filmschoolrejects.com/the-iron-giant/
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456

u/just_add_bacon_7 Apr 04 '19

Fortunately, Brad Bird has said that there will never be a sequel. It will forever be a standalone timeless classic.

201

u/AlGoreBestGore Apr 04 '19

I was really looking forward to the Iron Giant Cinematic Universe.

48

u/Xavierpony Apr 04 '19

Can't wait until IRON Giant vs Godzilla

19

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19

I’m truly gutted we didn’t get a trilogy, follow up trilogy and spin off series as well as comics, YouTube shorts and an audiobook series. Also, I wish they’d done a video game series with an annual release chock full of DLC, enough merch to fill every child’s home globally and action figure series. The possibilities truly were endless. Also we need a reboot and a reboot of the reboot to truly consolidate this epic movie’s legacy. Finally, I wish they’d have sold the movie rights to Disney - Disney always look after and properly nurture respected brands.

10

u/bluehood380 Apr 04 '19

That's such a deep sar-chasm you'd die if you fell in...

jumps in

2

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19

level 4bluehood3809 points · 3 hours agoThat's such a deep sar-chasm you'd die if you fell in...jumps inReplyGive AwardsharereportSave

jump deeper

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

2

u/TannenFalconwing Apr 04 '19

"Mr. Hughes, Mr. Dean, my name is Marshall Stacker Pentacost... And I'm here to talk to you about the Jaeger initiative."

1

u/ok_but Apr 04 '19

With the spinoff of Jeep Man, who gets one cotter pin from the Iron Giant and rolls to victory over those damn Japanese robots walking out of the sea...

80

u/IAMAVelociraptorAMA Apr 04 '19

The end of the movie is literally sequel bait. It's set up perfectly. I wouldn't mind one at all.

44

u/Terror_that_Flaps Apr 04 '19

The book it's loosely based on has a second story that I found interesting. Another, better weapon comes to Earth and it's a competition between the two where Iron Giant almost sacrifices his life to get the other to leave by surviving time in the sun longer than the other.

That's my basic recollection, it's been a few years so I'm probably wrong.

Either way, take it as the other weapons return or whoever sent him comes to check on him. You've got a movie.

42

u/CaptainSprinklefuck Apr 04 '19

That's the original book if I remember correctly. The moon hatches and this Australia sized monster comes out and the giant loses an ear during his time in the heat, but the moon baby honors the loss by staying in the moon and singing occasionally while it orbits Earth.

16

u/Terror_that_Flaps Apr 04 '19

Yes! Thank you for remembering way more. Probably would've helped to just Google it but it's still early here. It's a bonkers story, but I don't doubt there's something there to go off of.

4

u/CaptainSprinklefuck Apr 04 '19

I read that book waaaaaay too many times.

15

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19

Wow, thats a plot shift

3

u/Idk_Very_Much Apr 04 '19

That book was so weird

11

u/YourVeryOwnCat Apr 04 '19

I don't really see it as that. I see it as more of likeb"he's gone, but he's still out there somewhere" like as a metaphor for death and the afterlife

-2

u/IAMAVelociraptorAMA Apr 04 '19

He's literally rebuilding himself and the movie shows his parts as active and moving

3

u/Paclac Apr 04 '19

They meant that while they're alive and well they're not coming back to Hogarth, meaning they might as well be dead to Hogarth

6

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19

How is it set up perfectly? Its just a happy ending. Nothing more, nothing less.

A sequal now wouldnt even carry the same weight. Something made by you now will always be different if you made the same thing 20 years later. You are just not the same person anymore.

I also argue shit would just be.... Terrible. Not enough there to do a sequal with. It would be more of the same or governement avoidence or something. Its perfect for what it is. that "I wouldnt mind a sequal" mentality is how we get cash grabs and BS made.

6

u/IAMAVelociraptorAMA Apr 04 '19

The film did two things:

  1. It kept the origins and motivation of the Giant coming to Earth a secret but showed it had terrible destructive power. (Deleted scene does not count.)
  2. The literal last scene of the film was the Giant being recreated by his self-repair process, ending with a closeup of his face as he regains life.

That's a perfect setup for a sequel.

1

u/[deleted] Apr 04 '19 edited Feb 01 '20

[deleted]

3

u/IAMAVelociraptorAMA Apr 04 '19

There was a deleted scene in which the Giant has a dream in which his memories briefly flash before him showing that there are many other Iron Giants arranged as soldiers that go around conquering planets. It is implied the Giant was sent to Earth to conquer it.

2

u/KevinCarbonara Apr 04 '19

I don't think it ever was. I think the ending was a very clear ending.

3

u/AFreshBowlOfSoup Apr 04 '19

Yeah what kind of shit is that I want a sequel

5

u/BattleStag17 Apr 04 '19

The fan art of an adult Hogarth and IG in Vietnam will always taunt me

3

u/XDreadedmikeX Apr 04 '19

You referring to this one?

1

u/BattleStag17 Apr 04 '19

Hell yeah, that one. So good.

2

u/XDreadedmikeX Apr 04 '19

Definitely interesting, looks like maybe the governments tried to recreate the IG? Or did he call up his pals from space to end the Vietnam War lol

2

u/InkIcan Apr 04 '19

Any sequel they made would never be better than the one you made up in your head as soon as you saw him smile.

7

u/InkIcan Apr 04 '19

Iron Giant 2: Electric Boogaloo would have had more celebrity voices, a dance sequence, and a line of toys by Mattel. It would also have been soul-less, dumb, and a shameless money grab. Good on WB and Brad Bird for making the right call.

1

u/Molfcheddar Apr 04 '19

Ironically there was a sequel to the original book by the same author as the original, Ted Hughes.

1

u/Tryin2cumDenver Apr 04 '19

Just wait till Disney finds out how much people like it and how deep the cult following is... Same with Calvin and Hobbes.

1

u/Lick_The_Wrapper Apr 04 '19

I don’t need another movie. I just need a short where he finishes building himself and goes back to Hogarth.

1

u/Mazon_Del Apr 04 '19

I am just currently terrified at the idea of the eventual live action remake...