A ‘Crimson Tide’ Sequel is in the Works!!

Get ready to roll tide again. Crimson Tide, the white-knuckle 1995 submarine thriller, has a sequel under construction at the shipyard. Jerry Bruckheimer, who produced the original film, discussed the in-development sequel on The Rich Eisen Show this week while promoting his latest blockbuster, F1: The Movie. And while nobody’s turned their key yet, Bruckheimer thinks he can convince the original’s star, Denzel Washington, to take the helm once more.

While discussing the high-velocity F1, Bruckheimer and Eisen‘s conversation turns to Crimson Tide, which starred Washington and the recently departed Gene Hackman. Bruckheimer notes that a sequel to the film is in development, saying that “We have a really good director and writer talking to the Navy right now about what’s going on under the water.” And while he doesn’t have a commitment from Washington yet, Bruckheimer is confident in his ability to get the Oscar-winner back in the water: “If we give him a good script, I think he’d do it.” Bruckheimer has certainly had sequel success in recent years: Top Gun: Maverick, which was likewise a much-belated sequel to a film directed by the late Tony Scott, saved the global box office in 2022 to the tune of a $1.5 billion USD gross.

What Is ‘Crimson Tide’ About?

Hackman stars as Frank Ramsey, the crusty veteran captain of the nuclear submarine USS Alabama; Washington plays his rookie executive officer, Ron Hunter. They’re dispatched to monitor Russian waters as a civil war erupts in the country, resulting in an ultra-nationalist faction seizing control of the crumbling post-Soviet state’s nuclear missiles. They receive an order to launch missiles at the rebel-controlled base, knowing it may lead to a global thermonuclear war, only to receive a second message that gets interrupted when they’re attacked by a rebel sub. Ramsay wants to follow the first order, while Hunter suspects the second order was a retraction: tensions ramp up between the two men, and between factions of the crew, with the fate of the world at stake. The film also stars Viggo Mortensen, George Dzundza, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, and a pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini.

Crimson Tide was a hit with audiences and critics, with a Fresh score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes and a $157.4 million take on a $53 million budget; praise was especially lavished on the acting clash between Hackman and Washington. The film’s script was penned by Michael Schiffer (Lean on Me) and featured additional dialogue from Quentin Tarantino in an uncredited capacity, explaining why Hunter has to break up a fight between two crewmen arguing about Silver Surfer comic books. In real life, Washington himself reportedly had a feud with Tarantino over some of the film’s dialogue.