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Shane Acker Talks Sequel to 9, Plus More PG-13 Animation

by Alex Billington
September 3, 2009

A few weeks back I interviewed the talented Shane Acker, director of the upcoming animated movie 9. That interview will be out in full next Monday (it's a must watch, I guarantee it), but in the meantime I wanted to mention a few things he said that would make for some exciting news today. When you sit down to watch 9 next week (it opens next Wednesday, September 9th), I'm certain you'll get so wrapped up in the world that he's created, you won't want it to end (or you'll want it to continue). We already know that means a sequel, and the good news is that Acker has already been thinking about one... and other original ideas.

When I asked Acker about if they'd ever consider expanding the universe into other mediums like comic books, he hinted about a sequel. "Who knows, there might be a sequel in the works," Acker said. "There's still more territory to be mined, more stories to be told in this world." When I asked for more details, he replied: "We just loosely kicked around ideas. I think everyone's poised to see if the films works, if it finds an audience and makes some money. I think everyone is chomping at the bit to see if it does, and if it does, then maybe there will be an opportunity to make a sequel. I think it would be a great world to revisit."

Even if a sequel to 9 (would it be called 10?) takes a while to get off the ground, Acker is already pitching another project. "I'm out pitching another film right now, and we're pitching it to anybody who's anybody in animation and studios. It's different, edgier kind of material, and people don't... Because they've got their certain brand or the certain things they do and it's risky, because it's still a really expensive medium to be working in, even though we proved that you can do something for a much smaller budget." I also asked if it would be PG-13, just like 9. "It's dark, yea, it's between PG and PG-13, it's definitely along those lines."

There are many great elements of 9 - the story, the animation, the characters, the visuals, the entire world. However, I'm most fascinated that he was able to make an edgy, dark PG-13 rated animated movie that still looked great. All we see these days are PG and G rated animated movies, because they need to sell them to family audiences. Which is why it's so refreshing to continue to see Acker push forward with darker material that is PG-13 - whether it be a sequel to 9 or other animated movies he may be working on. I wish him and everyone at Starz Animation the best opening next week. Go see it - it's definitely worth the ticket price!

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