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Casablanca Sequel On Its Way?

A sequel to the iconic romance film Casablanca has been long considered, but apparently it’s an idea that just will not die.

According to the NY Post (with a hat tip to The Film Stage), WB is once again looking to give us a continuation of the Casablanca story, this time from the film’s original writer Howard Koch. Apparently the picture, entitled Return To Casablanca, will look at the pair of Rick and Ilsa’s son, Richard, during 1961. Here’s what the outlet is reporting:

After leaving Casablanca for America, Ilsa learned she was pregnant. She gave birth to a boy who grew up in America. The real father of the boy, it turns out, was not Laszlo but Rick.

He was conceived the night Ilsa came to Rick’s place to plead for the Letters of Transit . . . The secret was not kept from Laszlo, but being the kind of man he was and owing so much to Rick, he adopted the child and treated him as his own son.

The boy was named Richard, and he grew up to be a handsome, tough-tender young man reminiscent of his father. He had been told the truth about his origin and has a deep desire to find his real father, or at least more about him, since Rick’s heroic at actions in Casablanca have become legendary.’

Richard finds himself very much a stranger in the Arab world, a world now under Arab rule since the expulsion of the Germans and Vichy French who occupied Casablanca during the war.

….now, in 1961, a citizens movement led by an Arab woman who calls herself Joan is leading ‘guerrilla warfare” to track down ‘Nazi-led outlaws.” Richard eventually discovers his father’s fate.

 

Personally, while I’m not entirely sold on the idea of a sequel, it is a universe I wouldn’t mind returning to. There have been numerous attempts at giving us a continuation of this story (biggest of which was a poorly received TV series) but this seems the most promising. The premise was conceived back in the ‘˜80s, so it remains to be seen as to just what has changed over the years, but this does have something to be interested by. The original film is admittedly a masterpiece, so there will be a lot of controversy here, but here’s to hoping it can make something worth noting.

Source NY Post / The Film Stage

Joshua Brunsting

Josh is a critic, a member of the Online Film Critics Society, a wrestling nerd, a hip-hop head, a father, a cinephile and a man looking to make his stamp on the world, one word at a time.