Speed Racer 2’s Potential Revival Gets Hopeful Update From Original Star After Scrapped Script

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Emile Hirsch has expressed interest in reprising his role as Speed Racer if a sequel were to be made.

As a huge cinema fan, I remember being really excited for Speed Racer when it came out. Emile Hirsch played the lead, and the story followed him as he tried to protect his family’s racing business from this really shady businessman, E.P. Arnold Royalton, who was willing to do anything to win. The cast was amazing – Christina Ricci, Susan Sarandon, John Goodman, even Matthew Fox were all in it! It didn’t do well when it first came out, critics weren’t kind, but over the years it’s really found an audience and become something of a cult classic, which I totally get – it’s a visually stunning and unique film.

As a huge fan of Speed Racer, I was thrilled to hear Warner Bros. is giving the film a 4K remaster. I recently read an interview with Emile Hirsch by ScreenRant‘s Grant Hermanns, and he dropped some amazing news! Apparently, the Wachowskis actually wrote a sequel! He confirmed there was a completed script for Speed Racer 2 – they were even planning to make it fairly quickly after the first film. Sadly, he didn’t share any details about the story, but just knowing a sequel was considered is fantastic!

Hirsch hasn’t ruled out returning for a revival or sequel, but he believes it would only happen if the Wachowskis were genuinely enthusiastic about it. He also thinks it could be compelling to revisit that world after a significant time has passed.

I think everything depends on timing – it needs to feel right in the moment. It’s all unfolded very naturally so far, and I believe it should just keep developing in that same way.

Before the first Speed Racer movie even came out, there was talk of a sequel. Rain, Emile Hirsch, and Christina Ricci all said they’d be interested in making another film, with Ricci specifically hoping her character, Trixie, would have more action. Producer Joel Silver revealed the filmmakers, the Wachowskis, had actually developed a story for a Speed Racer follow-up, and they also had ideas for a sequel to their action movie Ninja Assassin, which came out a year later.

The first Speed Racer movie hinted at several possibilities for a sequel. The most obvious one would be to reveal more about Racer X and his secret connection to Speed – specifically, that he’s actually Speed’s brother Rex, who everyone thought had died. The first movie confirmed this twist, but kept it hidden from the rest of the Racer family.

Sadly, plans for a follow-up movie were canceled because Speed Racer didn’t do well in theaters. The film earned almost $94 million, but it cost $120 million to make. Considering typical marketing and distribution costs, it needed to earn around $300 million to be profitable for Warner Bros.

The recent financial setbacks will likely make it difficult for the studio to revisit the abandoned Speed Racer 2 script. With Warner Bros. being acquired by Paramount Skydance in a deal worth $110 billion, the company will probably prioritize projects with a higher chance of being profitable.

This isn’t the first time the studio has worked with the Wachowskis on a sequel released long after the original. Nearly two decades after the initial trilogy concluded, Lana Wachowski returned to write, produce, and direct The Matrix Resurrections. However, the film received mixed reviews and didn’t perform well in theaters, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its simultaneous release in cinemas and on HBO Max.

So, it looks like Warner Bros. isn’t completely giving up on some of its older properties. I’m hearing Drew Goddard is actually working on another Matrix movie, which got me thinking…apparently, if the Wachowskis wanted to make a Speed Racer 2, the studio might actually listen! They’re both busy with separate projects right now, and it’s unclear how close those are to being finished. But a movie like Speed Racer is a huge undertaking, so they’d really need a big chunk of free time if they decided to revisit that world.

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2026-05-18 19:41