Panos Cosmatos's 'Mandy 2' Idea Won't Happen But Is Still Bonkers Rad

Just to get this out of the way: I love Mandy, it’s going to land very high on my end-of-year best-of list. It wraps up in a satisfying manner and I don’t think it needs or even should receive a sequel. That said, if it does get a follow up, which it won’t, it should definitely follow director Panos Cosmatos’ sequel idea, because hot damn, it’s a doozy.

Because we can’t leave well enough alone and at some primal level need everything to be part of everything else, on the press trail for Mandy, Cosmatos has been asked about the possibility of a sequel. It could work, the pieces are in play, but just because it could happen doesn’t mean it should happen. 

Indiewire asked the director about Mandy 2 and there are two things to note about his answer. First, he makes it clear this isn’t something he wants to happen, thinks will happen, or will likely happen in any way. Second, holy shit I want this to happen more than almost anything other than a The Night Comes for Us trilogy.

Here’s what he said:

“People have asked me about it. I don’t know if I’m a sequels kind of person. I prefer each film to have its own unique identity. When I was writing the film, to amuse myself, I imagined a sequel that took place with Red Miller fighting Nazi punks in a bombed-out city. I don’t know if that would ever happen, but it’s a fun thought.”

For those of you who’ve seen Mandy, Nicolas Cage plays Red Miller, who fights a psychedelic death cult and a cadre of demonic, Hellraiser-esque bikers on a brutal quest for revenge, and gives the most bonkers, gut-ripping, on-another-plane performance. And I would love to watch him battle Nazi punks in what sounds like a post-apocalyptic (or at least post-apocalyptish, is that a word?) wasteland. That is something I can 100% get behind. Honestly, I don’t care if this is a proper Mandy sequel, I just want to see Nic Cage fight Nazis—I can’t help but think of Surf Nazis Must Die, but that’s probably only my brain.

This doesn’t mean anything. Mandy 2 isn’t going to happen. It shouldn’t happen. But this idea is in the world and damn if that doesn't make me happy.