The Polar Express 2: Is Tom Hanks Coming Back After $312 Million Success With the First Movie?

Publish date: 2024-03-27

The unique thing about sequels is they may pop up at any point in time, be it only a year later or two decades after the original film. Tom Hanks’ The Polar Express was a filmmaking wonder, with an animation technology that was way ahead of its time, facilitating its $312 million success. Based on the 1985 children’s book by Chris Van Allsburg, the 2004 film eventually emerged as a Christmas must-watch.

Now, news has surfaced that producer Gary Goetzman is attached to a possible The Polar Express 2 project. In an interview, he opened up about eyeing the cult classic’s sequel among his upcoming works, after having worked with Hanks in the drama, 2024’s Masters of the Air. 

Also Read: Tom Hanks Was Exhausted After He Was Given an Impossible Job in One of the Best Christmas Movies Ever: ‘The Polar Express’

Tom Hanks to return in his iconic holiday film 

Apart from the heartwarming plot, The Polar Express is notable for many reasons. It is the first animated movie in IMAX, the first motion-capture animation, and an all-digital capture. Besides that, it remains a professional highlight for star Tom Hanks as he played seven characters in The Polar Express, from The Hobo to Ebenezer Scrooge. 

After The Polar Express’s success, filmmaker Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks have worked on multiple projects together: A Man Called Otto, Greyhound, and Masters of the Air. Therefore, it’s not surprising that Goetzman wants to bring a continuation to one of his greatest films with Hanks. Talking to Comicbook.com, the 71-year-old producer said, 

“But it becomes, there’s so much involved with, ‘Who’s artistic property would that be? Would that be?’ It’s just not like, ‘Hey, let’s go do another free sailing! So, they all take time and that’s okay because we don’t mind things going slowly. But that is trying to be worked out now, for sure, Polar 2. Yes.”

Goetzman, who owns the production company Playtone with Hanks, confirmed that a sequel to The Polar Express is being worked on. However, he addressed the challenges of making sequels to hit movies. When asked about his idea of sequels, he said, 

“I’d love to do a sequel of Where The Wild Things Are. There’s a lot of the things that we’ve done, if it established itself, branded itself, those movies, studios want another one. That’s the way it goes. I’m up for Mamma Mia 3, man. That would be a ball to do right about now.” 

While a sequel seems evident for some fan-favorite movies, Goetzman claimed that it’s not as convenient. A lot of minutes and formalities are required before it enters production. Regardless, The Polar Express 2 is trotting forward with a green signal. 

Also Read: “You guys are the wrong gender to understand”: Tom Hanks Went Off the Rails in One Meg Ryan Movie That Made Him Extremely ‘Cranky’

Will Tom Hanks again play more than one character?

2004’s The Polar Express was a massive success, grossing $312 million worldwide, per The Numbers. However, a majority of the success ought to be credited to the legendary Tom Hanks, who voiced and put his finesse into seven of the movie’s characters. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the Forrest Gump actor was initially considered for playing every role in The Polar Express, per ScreenRant

Despite being shocked by the near-impossible task, the actor put his best foot forward. In an interview with IGN, Hanks, who was tired and disinterested after playing seven characters, recalled, 

“There’s only so much that I can internally grasp as an actor and on the day of tests that we did I played five or six or seven roles in the course of that day, and I said: ‘Bob, I’m exhausted here.’”

Also Read: “This is what you pay me for”: Tom Cruise Agreed to Work for Free for $273M Movie for a Surprising Reason That Was Initially Offered to Tom Hanks

While the actor had pushed his limits back then, it is doubtful he would do the same today. But with the myriad of talents and riveting animation technologies currently, it’s likely the movie shall hire a star-studded cast for the holiday classic. Hanks or Zemeckis haven’t commented on the anticipated sequel yet.

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