Not many movies lock in a sequel before the first one even hits theaters, but Pierce Brosnan’s upcoming reboot of Cliffhanger is already climbing toward a second installment. Deadline has reported that early development is underway on a sequel to the high-altitude action remake already. It’s still unclear whether Brosnan, Lily James, or director Jaume Collet-Serra will return, but the move signals confidence in the project’s franchise potential. Although if we were to put money on it, old Pierce might be doing less hanging and more falling.

The new Cliffhanger reimagining wrapped filming earlier this year and is currently in post-production. Brosnan stars as seasoned mountaineer Ray Cooper, who runs a luxury chalet in the Dolomites with his daughter Sydney. When a billionaire’s son comes to stay, they’re targeted by kidnappers, forcing Ray’s other daughter Naomi (James)—still haunted by a past climbing accident—to face her fears in order to save her family. The screenplay is based on a story by Ana Lily Amirpour, with the latest draft penned by Melanie Toast (what a name).

What Can We Expect From ‘Cliffhanger’?

James, who also serves as a producer on the film, has been candid about the physically demanding shoot. While promoting Finally Dawn earlier this summer, she told ScreenRant about the challenges of filming on location:

“I don’t want to say too much to give it away right now. What I will say is I had one of the most thrilling experiences of my life. We shot in the Dolomites. We were there for six weeks on the mountains. I was really hanging off mountains. We had to shut down multiple times because of freak snowstorms. The story is very much through Naomi and her sister Sydney. I would hope that we are maintaining what people love about the original cliffhanger, but it’s definitely different. It’s feral, it’s raw. It’s a real re-imagining, and I am producing it too. And I loved working with Jaume Collet-Sera, who’s directing it. We have a wonderful cast. Pierce Brosnan is just a dream, and we’re in the edit phase now, but I’m really, really excited to share this one. And I fell completely in love with rock climbing. I became utterly obsessed. And getting physically strong for that was one of the biggest challenges. But getting to really do it and really do all that climbing was seriously empowering really. And I loved it.”

The 1993 original Cliffhanger, directed by Renny Harlin and starring Sylvester Stallone, grossed over $255 million worldwide and became one of the decade’s defining action thrillers. Stallone himself was once attached to a different reboot that would have seen him passing the torch to a new generation of climbers, but that version stalled out after creative changes.

There’s no release date yet for the film, but with the process now in post-production, release details should arrive soon.

via Collider