Zemeckis Discusses ‘Roger Rabbit 2′

Published by Jeff Leins on: July 23rd, 2009

In April, Robert Zemeckis said new digital tools had him starting to think about Roger Rabbit.”  The idea “buzzing” in his mind was to combine motion capture and live-action, much like his 2D and actor combination for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? in 1988.

At the San Diego Comic-Con Thursday, Zemeckis was present at the Disney animation panel to discuss his mo-cap film A Christmas Carol, starring Jim Carrey.  Someone asked him if the rumors were true about a Roger Rabbit sequel and Zemeckis skirted the question by saying he could not “confirm or deny” the possibility.  He added if it did happen, the characters would remain in 2D.

When Harry from Aint It Cool News talked with Zemeckis on the phone, the director said Bob Hoskins may return as Eddie Valient, the main live-action character from the original.  “He loves Eddie Valiant and he would love to do it. We talk about it and it’s something we are thinking about,” Zemeckis said.

The director continued by saying a sequel — if it happened — would be a few years off because he’s committed to pioneering motion capture, much like he broke new ground in live-action/animation hybrids.  (That means you can partially blame movie versions of Alvin and the Chipmunks, Smurfs, Garfield, Scooby Doo, and more on Zemeckis.)  With The Polar Express, Beowulf, and his upcoming Christmas Carol adaptation, he hopes to be the father of motion capture, making it easier for new directors interested in trying the tool.  Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are using mo-cap in their Tintin trilogy.

A Roger Rabbit prequel was commissioned for Disney and producer Spielberg in the 90’s, but after several re-writes Roger Rabbit never made it to the screen or revealed his direct-to-video origins.