Sylvester Stallone has three undisputed classics under his belt. Two of them, Rocky and Rambo, he has milked until they are so dry that they actually started producing quality again. The third, however, sat alone as a testament to the greatness of ’80 / ’90s action cinema. Cliffhanger, Stallone’s 1993 action masterpiece, never received a sequel despite the fact that Ranger Gabriel “Gabe” Walker could have easily gone on plenty more adventures. Well, that is ending now as a Cliffhanger franchise reboot has been announced with Sylvester Stallone returning as Gabe and Ric Roman Waugh coming on to direct.
Cliffhanger sequels have been talked about since the original came out, but there was never much movement on anything. But now Stallone’s Balboa Productions is partnering with the ironically named Original Film, the studio behind Fast and Furious, to bring us more National Park action. There are no details on the plot of the film, which was written by Mark Bianculli (Hunters), but Stallone hasn’t exactly hung up his action hat over the years so he very well could once again be climbing icy cliffs in nothing but a tank top. Now, whether or not a single park ranger would stumble upon two cliff-based criminal organizations in one lifetime seems a bit unbelievable, but it does appear that the franchise is going international with Waugh saying they worked in the Italian Alps.
“Growing up with the biggest action films of the ’80s and ’90s, working on many of them myself, Cliffhanger was by far one of my favorite spectacles,” said Waugh in a statement. “To be at the helm of the next chapter, scaling the Italian Alps with the legend himself, Sylvester Stallone, is a dream come true. It’s going to be a great challenge and blast taking this franchise to new heights, a responsibility I don’t take lightly.”
Waugh is a journeyman action director if ever one existed and has helmed a slew of moderately successful, though hardly memorable action films, including Snitch, Angel Has Fallen, Greenland, and Shot Caller. When I say the man has worked with Gerard Butler on three action films, you should know the level of director he is. Hopefully, he can turn out something above grade for the Cliffhanger reboot with Sylvester Stallone working alongside him.
