tomorrow, when the war began

Caitlin Stasey on Tomorrow sequel: My involvement may be over 

Omnilab Media may remain committed to developing the sequel to 2010 blockbuster Tomorrow, When the War Began but the film’s star, Caitlin Stasey, feels her involvement in the project is over.

The actress, who won an IF Award for her performance as Ellie Linton in the adaptation of the best selling John Marsden novel, believes that if a second film does eventually go ahead, it may not feature the original cast members.

“You always hear things, you always hear that someone’s writing it, that someone’s putting it together,” says Stasey. “Nothing has happened until it happens. Unfortunately for the Tomorrow series, I feel that for the actors that were in the first film, maybe our commitment to it is done.”

Tomorrow, When the War Began, which was written and directed by Stuart Beattie, was the highest grossing Australian film of 2010, taking $13.48 million at the box office. In February 2011 it was announced that a sequel - also helmed by Beattie - would commence filming in September. But the production was moved back into the development stage when Beattie signed on to write and direct graphic novel adaptation I, Frankenstein.

Omnilab Media managing director, Chris Mapp, told IF late last year that the company was still committed to the project - considering both film and television options. Wish You Were Here filmmaker Kieran Darcy-Smith is currently developing a new version of the script.

Since Tomorrow’s release almost two years ago, many of the film’s young cast have gone on to build stable careers in the industry. Ashleigh Cummings, who played Robin, is currently appearing in ABC’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Phoebe Tonkin (Fi) is one of the leads in US supernatural thriller series The Secret Circle and Lincoln Lewis (Kevin) has worked on various shows including SLiDE, Underbelly: Razor and the upcoming Tricky Business.

“By the time we all get together, we’ll probably be 35 and too old to play the characters,” says Stasey. “Whenever someone tells me that they’ve seen the film, I thank them profusely just because it makes me so happy. But if they revisit the film in a couple of years and they use the next Australian starlet and the next Australian hunk, audiences have a limited loyalty so I think it’ll be fine. I hope for the fans that they have something, even a television show, because people really did love it.”

Stasey is currently in the midst of filming her second collaboration with Beattie as a secondary lead in I, Frankenstein alongside Aaron Eckhart.

“He’s amazing, he’s the single most generous man I’ve ever met in my life. He has such enthusiasm,” she says of the writer/director. “He’s like a mascot for positive thinking - it’s nice to be around someone who reaffirms constantly that they love what they do, and anybody that loves something so much could never let you down. I hope I get to work with him late, late into my career.”

Stasey is also involved in comedian Josh Thomas’s upcoming ABC series Please Like Me. The pair met when the actress appeared on popular game show Talkin’ ‘Bout Your Generation. Thomas encouraged Stasey to audition for the role of his character’s ex-girlfriend and the rest is history.

“Everything about it was funny – the language, the situations , it was perfect, and it fit into my style of humour,” she says of the six-part series. “When I came down here, I was worried I’d have a lot of downtime, but fortunately this came up perfectly. And now they’re coexisting harmoniously in my schedule, which I’m really, really thrilled about.”

Caitlin Stasey @ Talkin’ ‘bout Your Generation

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I expect you to go and see it! Show your support to the film’s crew, by doing so it’s more likely to get the sequel soon! :)

“It’s amazing to me that we’ve adjusted to the new life so quickly. I guess humans are an adaptable species. I wouldn’t say it’s been easy, and there have been lots of depressing and ugly moments, with people not able to accept change, but in general I’d say we’re taking three steps forward for every two back.”