Released back in October 2010 the comic action-thriller RED was a pleasant surprise. Based on a DC Comics graphic novel by Warren Ellis and Cully Hammer and directed by German-born Robert Schwentke (The Time Traveler’s Wife), RED brought together a killer cast (including Bruce Willis, Morgan Freeman, Helen Mirren, John Malkovich, Richard Dreyfuss, Karl Urban, and Brian Cox), armed them with cutting quips and heavy artillery, and let them have a paycheck-cashing ball. It was a hoot to see a fun action flick that relied more on old school ass-kicking and witty dialogue rather than CGI fireballs. The movie was also a huge success for distributor Summit Entertainment, grossing over $200 million and making a sequel inevitable.

Well sure enough a sequel is definitely happening and Willis, Freeman, Mirren, and Malkovich are all expected to return as a group of retired government agents who can’t reconcile their tension-filled old lives with their quieter new lives, although none of the actors have signed on the dotted line as of yet. One principal player from the original who won’t be returning is director Schwentke, who is currently in post-production on R.I.P.D. and has several projects on his plate. Recently tapped to take Schwentke’s place on the RED sequel is Dean Parisot, a director best known for helming comedies such as Home Fries and the 2005 remake of Fun with Dick and Jane as well as episodes of Modern Family and Monk. Jon and Erich Hoeber, who wrote the screenplay for the original RED as well as the upcoming Battleship, will return for scripting duties on the sequel.

The movie Parisot is probably best known for is Galaxy Quest, the 1999 sci-fi comedy that starred Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shaloub, Sam Rockwell, and Daryl Mitchell as actors from a science-fiction TV series recruited to save the universe from marauding aliens. The film wasn’t a big box office success at the time but it has grown a cult following over the years. Galaxy Quest had a modest amount of action which was staged and executed well and Parisot has proven to be a director adept at balancing out big comedy and action beats with smaller character moments, making him an inspired choice to direct a sequel to a Bruce Willis comic adventure.

Filming is expected to begin once Willis wraps on the fifth Die Hard movie for director John Moore. Summit Entertainment, which was recently acquired by Lionsgate, is hoping that the RED movies will become their new big-ticket franchise now that the last installment of the Twilight saga is scheduled for release in November, although the possibility remains that even after the release of Breaking Dawn Part 2 Summit won’t be done with making Twilight sequels.

[Source: THR via Geek Tyrant]