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Master and Commander 2never happened , and there are a few reasons why the franchiseMaster and Commander : The Far Side of the Worldwas intended to launch did n’t materialise , with the characters rather set to a appear in a prequel . Directed by Peter Weir and starringRussell Crowe , Master and Commanderis a 2003 motion-picture show based on Patrick O’Brian ’s Aubrey - Maturin novels about Captain Jack Aubrey , the commanding officer of the HMSSurprise , who sailed for the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars .
Master and Commandercombined elements from several of O’Brian ’s novels , but the canonic story was adapted fromThe Far Side of the World . Set in 1805 , Captain Jack Aubrey is tasked with combat a French privateer , theAcheron , to prevent Napoleon ’s navy from gaining ascendency of the Pacific . Aubrey ’s closest friend on his ship hold 197 souls is Stephen Maturin ( Paul Bettany ) , the ship ’s surgeon . Despite Aubrey ’s skills as a Jack-tar , theAcheroncontinually outsail and outfight him . As the situation worsens for theSurprise , Aubrey continues to chase his enemy across the oceans , and Maturin forces the Captain to face the hypothesis that his own self-importance is locate his ship and his crew in danger . To attain its telling verisimilitude , Master and Commandershot for several month on an authentically - created set in a piddle army tank soundstage , with an extra 10 - day of filming on the mellow seas on a budget of $ 150 million .
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Despite its decisive acclaim and 10 Academy Award nominations , include Best Picture and Best Director for Peter Weir , Master and Commanderonly grossed $ 212 - million worldwide . The historical epic also lose out toLord of the Rings : The Return of the Kingat the Oscars . Even though Russell Crowe was at the height of his movie stardom afterGladiatorin 2000,Master and Commanderdidn’t dominate the box federal agency as 20th Century Fox ’s head teacher Tom Rothman , who championed the expensive prestigiousness word-painting , had hop . Since the motion picture was not profitable , the sequel that the filmmakers wanted were n’t greenlit — and 17 years subsequently , there are still no plans for aMaster and Commandersequel , despiteCrowe hinting in 2017that he heard"whispers"that the sequel could in conclusion take place . rather , 20th Century Studios ( as it ’s now known after Disney ’s learning in 2019 ) announced that they would grow aMaster and Commanderprequel movieas a part of the enfranchisement , publish by Patrick Ness , and in all likelihood based on the first book in the Aubrey - Maturin series , which have the first meeting of the main grapheme . This would likely mean recast the roles of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin , given Crowe ’s and Bettany ’s age and the early mount in their life .
One of the reasonsMaster and Commanderunderperformed is that the twelvemonth when it was released saw audiences ' tastes transitioning to fantasy and superhero flick . Spider - Manset platter the twelvemonth before andX2 : X - Men Unitedwas a blockbuster just months beforeMaster and Commanderbowed in November 2003.Pirates of the Caribbean : The Curse of the Black Pearlwas also a monster hit in the summer of 2003 , and Johnny Depp ’s initiatory sea robber fantasy contained all of the escapism that audiences were looking for — and it indeed spawned aPiratesfranchise .
By comparison , Master and Commanderwas decidedly direct at adult and mature consultation , but it arrived at a metre when the sweeping historic epic was rapidly lead out of fashion as a favor Hollywood genre . Similarly , Wolfgang Peterson’sTroyfailed in the summertime of 2004 . Even though Russell Crowe’sGladiator , which was released just three yr beforeMaster and Commander , was a corner office strike that racked up vital acclaim and Oscars , audiences ' tastes changed almost overnight in the decade of the 2000s . Indeed , the prevailing picture at the box office are Marvel ’s superhero movies andDisney live - activity remakes , which invoke to all hearing , leaving trivial chance a motion-picture show likeMaster and C0mmandercould have become a blockbuster in that marketplace .
Weir saw the writing on the wall back in 2005 when he say that thatMaster and Commander 2was"most unlikely"because"it did well … ish at the box office , [ but ] it did n’t get that flagitious , speedy income that provokes a continuation . “The factMaster and Commander ’s biggest supporter at Fox , Tom Rothman , is out of the picture entirely , on top of Disney corrupt 20th Century Fox in 2019 , likely sank the chance of Russell Crowe catch to play Captain Jack Aubrey again inMaster and Commander 2.Although sports fan have n’t lost out entirely .
With Patrick Ness ( whose efforts have focused on YA novels and the similarly youth - focusedChaos walk , an adaption of his own novel ) on board to indite the novel prequel entryway , it seems 20th Century Studios has decided to reorient the franchise and target a young interview , come in the footsteps of its competition , thePiratesfranchise . While fans of the original installment were certainly waiting a long time forMaster and Commander 2 , the sequelis confirmed not to be happen , but at least they will get the prospect to see Aubrey and Maturin on the mellow ocean again .
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