Release Date: Unknown; it may never happen.
Distributor: MGM (Though MGM was the company behind the first two films, 2001 is now distributed by Warner Bros.; it's unknown if MGM and WB would have to work together to make this sequel happen)
Cast: None announced yet.
Frank Poole Note: Though this film's lead character is Frank Poole, who was played by Gary Lockwood in 2001: A Space Odyssey, it seems very likely that a new actor would be cast as Poole. Why? Well, Poole is the same age in this film that he was in the first, while Lockwood has aged some 32 years since. Plus, he's not a star. This wouldn't be exactly unprecedented. The role of Dr. Heywood Floyd was played by different actors in the first two (William Sylvester in 2001 and Roy Scheider in 2010).
Director: Unknown.
Director Notes: (6/6/00) In June of 1999, Arthur C. Clarke reportedly met with Tom Hanks (That Thing You Do!), which led to rumors that Hanks was going to direct this film.
Screenwriter: Unknown. It's possible Arthur C. Clarke would be involved on some level.
Based Upon: This movie will be based upon the fourth (and final) novel in Arthur C. Clarke's series that began with 2001: A Space Odyssey.
2061 Note: The strange thing about this project is that it skips over the novel that I thought was the best of the series, 2061. That book again featured Dr. Heywood Floyd (Roy Scheider in 2010), now an old man, who journeys to the moons of Jupiter. The only thing I can figure out is that they must figure they can include the events of that book in this film's back story. Also, this film is more of a direct sequel to 2001, whereas 2061 was a sequel (of sorts) to 2010.
Not to be Confused with: (11/7/01) Michael Fleming of Variety reports that there is another project called 3001 in development at Fox, a comedy which would be directed by Mike Judge (Office Space, Beavis and Butt-Head). (8/13/02) That project is about a man who wakes up 1,000 years later to discover that because of generations of "dumbing down", he is now the smartest man on the planet.
Premise Notes: Since some people may not have seen/read 2061, I've used "spoiler space" to cover up some details that happened in that book. Click and scroll your mouse over the white space after "second sun".
Premise: A thousand years later, astronaut Frank Poole is found floating in space, frozen at the point before death. Revived in 3001, he is informed of the events that had happened in the previous millennium, including the conversion of Jupiter into a second sun,
and the evolution of life on Europa, a planet that was formerly one of Jupiter's moons. There's also many technological advances, but while that's all fascinating, what really interests Poole is what became of his old buddy, Dave Bowman...
Filming: There is no production date for this project.
Genre: Eye Candy, Science Fiction
Official Book Site: 3001
Status: In Development
Message Board: Share your thoughts on our "3001: The Final Odyssey" Message Board
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