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Rock Out With You Plot Out: Michael Bay Reveals The Plot For His Sequel To 1996's 'The Rock'

For those of us who have seen it, 1996's The Rock will likely have a special place in your heart.

By Tom ChapmanPublished 6 years ago 2 min read
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'The Rock' [Credit: Buena Vista]

While explosions and demolition expert #MichaelBay may be now known for blowing up Stonehenge and leading the Transformer's franchise to maligned glory, let's not forget that he wasn't always making robots fight each other. With an illustrious career spanning three decades, Bay has brought us such action-packed adventures as Bad Boys, Armageddon, and Pearl Harbor. However, for those of us who have seen it, 1996's The Rock will likely have a special place in your heart.

We had the frankly brilliant pairing of #NicolasCage and #SeanConnery, the historical backdrop of Alcatraz prison, and a paper-thin plot about terrorists and nerve gas. Up there with the likes of Con Air and Die Hard, could the film possibly have been any better? As pure '90s popcorn, The Rock went on to kick action ass at the box office and nestle in as one of the great films of the decade. Ever since, things have been quiet, but now Bay reveals that he once had ambitious plans for The Rock 2!

Rock 'N Roll

If you remember back to the first film, The Rock focused on Cage's Dr. Stanley Goodspeed, a lab-rat scientist who was forced to infiltrate the infamous prison alongside the only man who had ever escaped it; enter a conveniently timed Connery as Captain John Patrick Mason. While other glitterati of the era like Ed Harris and Michael Biehn had roles, The Rock was undoubtedly a Goodspeed and Mason affair, so it is no surprise the sequel would once again focus on the mismatched duo.

The original ended with Goodspeed happily driving off into the distance with his wife, Carla (Vanessa Marcil), Mason was presumed dead by the authorities, and Stanley had discovered a secret microfilm of government secrets. Speaking to Slash Film, Bay revealed what would've happened next:

"Nic Cage has this microfilm of all this bad government confidential [info], like, who killed JFK? The government comes after Nic Cage with a vengeance. We’re talking out to kill. It turns into more of a thriller. Nic Cage has nowhere to turn, because he’s been stabbed in the back by the government, and they’re after him. Maybe he takes Carla, I’m not sure. Maybe they separate. I’d really like to separate Nic and Carla, and have Nic try to employ the help of Sean Connery. Basically, taking The Rock off exactly where it left off."

It all sounds brilliantly cheesy and like classic Bayhem, however, it does also sound like a clichéd '90s reject. You may remember that David Fincher's Se7en was once set for the sequel treatment, as was Sly Stallone saving the Hoover Dam in Cliffhanger 2, and Kevin Costner protecting Princess Diana in The Bodyguard 2. Some concepts just wouldn't work nowadays, and sadly returning to The Rock is probably one of them.

Sending the two on the run sounds like some Bourne series magic, but even if we wanted to see Goodspeed and Mason reunite, the chances are slim-to-nil. Connery has long since retired from acting and even turned down the opportunity to return to Indiana Jones in 2008, so I doubt that The Rock is high up his priority list. Elsewhere, Cage appears to have put most of his action leads behind him and these days focuses on more adult films.

Who knows though, Goodspeed could bring that big box of secrets to our screens one day, but it is more likely that Bay would eventually craft a different sequel or a remake. Just imagine a new era and another brilliant pairing of The Rock (the film) and The Rock (the actor) coming together with the wrestler-cum-actor in the starring role. Take my money and make it happen, Mr. Bay!

(Source: Slash Film)

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About the Creator

Tom Chapman

Tom is a Manchester-based writer with square eyes and the love of a good pun. Raised on a diet of Jurassic Park, this ’90s boy has VHS flowing in his blood. No topic is too big for this freelancer by day, crime-fighting vigilante by night.

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