“I think it helps”: Bird Box Spin-off Directors Defend Movie Not Bringing Back Sandra Bullock as Horror Franchise Falls Flat Without Oscar Winner
Netflix’s Bird Box was a post-apocalyptic thriller about a mysterious force with a very straightforward concept: You see it, you die. The reactions of the movie, however, led to historical viewing figures on the platform.
Sandra Bullock plays the main protagonist Malorie Hayes, who’s one of the few remaining survivors and is trying to avoid the force on her dangerous journey to a potentially safe place with her children.
The 58-year-old delivered an astonishing performance, helping Netflix attract 26 million viewers in the movie’s first seven days of release Stateside. As such, many fans took for granted that she’d be the lead in any future projects based on the same. Alas, that’s not the case.
Bird Box Barcelona Directors Explain the Reason Behind Sandra Bullock’s Absence
Netflix, instead of making a sequel of the hit movie, decided to do a spin-off, which saw the new plot focus on the mysterious force’s actions in a different world to the original, albeit with same rules: You see, you die. Georgina Campbell and Mario Casas head-lined the cast that had a notable absence: Sandra Bullock.
One of the biggest selling point, beside the pretty inventive plot idea, of Bird Box was Bullock’s acting. Having won an Oscar in 2010 for The Blind Spot (No, we aren’t trying to insinuate any pattern here.), she’s undoubtedly one of the best actresses of our generation. Her portrayal of Hayes, who goes above and beyond down a river blindfolded to save her two children, was utterly convincing.
As such, her absence in the spin-off surprised many. Director David Pastor tried to explain the decision by stating: “We really had the freedom to come up with an original story that could stand on its own two feet, and that was one of the things that actually, as directors, attracted us to the project, this idea that you don’t even have to have watched the original Bird Box to enjoy this movie, to be honest. I think it helps. I think that if you have watched the original probably then you get a fuller picture, and it makes the whole thing, maybe, more enjoyable, but it’s also a standalone movie on its own.”
David and his co-director Alex Pastor’s explanation is certainly understandable. But early flat reactions (Just over 50% rating on Rotten Tomatoes) of Bird Box Barcelona suggest Netflix missed the trick by not bringing back the Gravity star.
Black Widow Almost Quit Acting After Being Snubbed for Sandra Bullock
Bullock might just be the biggest female icon of sci-fi thrillers as Bird Box isn’t her first hit in the genre. She also starred in Gravity, which released in 2013, and turned out to be the biggest hit of the time, sweeping Oscars with most awards (7) on the night in 2014.
She played the role of Ryan Stone, an astronaut stuck in a dangerous situation alongside Matt Kowalski (George Clooney). Bullock brilliantly portrayed Stone, but she wasn’t the only actress considered for the role, initially.
Scarlett Johansson also did a screen test in “the full whole space suit thing” but ultimately she was snubbed for Bullock. The Black Widow star went on to confess that the rejection almost convinced her to quit acting. But she eventually bagged the Natasha Romanoff role in Iron Man 2. And as they say, the rest is history!
Source: The Digital Fix
