I Am Number Four Updates: Will A Sequel Happen?

The first movie was supposed to kick off a brand-new franchise, but will an I Am Number Four sequel ever happen? Following the success of the Twilight movies, studios snapped up other young adult book properties they could turn into movie franchises. I Am Number Four arrived in 2011, adapted from the first book in the Lorien Legacies series by James Frey and Jobie Hughes under the pseudonym Pittacus Lore. The movie follows a monstrous alien race hunting down a group of young aliens hiding on Earth, killing them in a specific order. After killing the first three, Number Four becomes the next target, and he has to fight to protect himself.

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If a studio wanted to create I Am Number Four 2, there is plenty of material to draw from. I Am Number Four is the first of seven books in the Lorien Legacies series. While the plan was always to pursue a larger franchise, and the movie performed relatively well at the box office, a combination of other factors that went wrong with I Am Number Four meant sequel plans were quickly put in doubt. So, will the next book in the I am Number Four series, The Power Of Six, ever get made?

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The Power Of Six Was Put On Hold

Screenwriter Marti Noxon confirmed (via JoBlo) that the plan for an I Am Number Four sequel that continued the series was put on the back burner following the negative critical reception of the original movie. I Am Number Four received mostly mediocre reviews, sitting at 33% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it managed to gross $150 million worldwide, with a production budget of $50 million.

While those box office numbers were solid for young adult movie franchises, they clearly weren’t enough to convince the studio The Power Of Six was worth pursuing and I Am Number Four 2 was put on indefinite hold. This is a shame since Number Six, played by Teresa Palmer, was regarded as a high point of the first film and the sequel would focus on her character.

Will The Power Of Six Ever Happen?

The possible production or release of I Am Number Four 2 has been the subject of relatively little news in the years since I Am Number Four’s release, which is likely bad news for the sequel. In a 2013 interview, D.J. Caruso suggested that DreamWorks was exploring ways to continue the franchise with an I Am Number Four sequel. However, nothing seems to have grown out of those discussions.

It would appear that, after several projects didn’t perform as well as DreamWorks had hoped, the studio canceled what they had in the works, which included plans for an I Am Number Four sequel. In 2021 when speaking with Screen Rant, Alex Pettyfer provided an update on I Am Number Four 2. Pettyfer stated that a sequel would likely never happen because DreamWorks had moved on.

“I think just as a collective slate, maybe the movies didn’t perform as well as they should have. And so the slate was kind of wiped clean for DreamWorks to start again.” – Alex Pettyfer

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The Demand For I Am Number Four 2 Hasn’t Waned

It has been over 10 years since I am Number Four hit the big screen, and there are still people who want to see a sequel. This is likely because the movie has stood the test of time, especially when the overall world-building is concerned. Outside some successful franchise movies like Joker, it is unusual for a stand-alone film to receive this much fanfare from people wanting more, but an I am Number Four sequel could bring in some nice box office if it ever came out. Of course, there would have to be cast changes, and likely a reboot since the original actors have aged out.

With the popular book series spawning its own sequel series in Lorien Legacies Reborn, there is still a lot of ground to cover, and a lot of fans who want to see it. While an I Am Number Four sequel seems unlikely, the story could be rebooted as a new movie or even a TV series at some point in the future. However, any future for the franchise will probably not see the return of either Alex Pettyfer or Teresa Palmer.

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