The movies that could have been and the tales that might have been told are never too far from recovery, but some of them are next to impossible or have crossed that line and have no way back. The meaning behind that is the fact that Chadwick Boseman had been tapped to star in a sequel to L.A. Confidential, a sequel that Warner Bros. passed on for one reason or another. Few people, if any, give a solid reason for WB passing on the sequel, but it’s agreed that after everything he did before he passed away, Boseman would have been fully capable of taking on a role in the sequel to this movie, and would have worked just fine with Russell Crowe and Guy Pearce. People were quite fond of this movie and would have likely lined up to see the sequel, but the studio passed on it and decided to go in a different direction. There are a lot of reasons why this might have happened, not to mention that it might be that WB was thinking that a sequel wouldn’t have the same vibe the first movie did, or that it was bound to come at the wrong time.
There are a number of reasons for any studio to pass on a movie, and wondering if WB is face-palming themselves right now is kind of silly since it’s probably not happening, and there’s no guarantee that it would have been the great movie that so many are willing to think it would be. Granted, bringing back top actors for a sequel helps a lot, and the possibility that it would be just as good is also possible, but sequels aren’t normally able to surpass the first movie. There are always exceptions, and this might have been one of them, but WB said no, and even if there was a chance that the studio might have said yes, which it might have after thinking things over, it’s still entirely possible that the sequel wouldn’t have done much.
A lot of people don’t want to believe that since L.A. Confidential did so well that they would rather think that the responsibility lies on WB’s shoulders alone when the truth is that studios do make this type of call after considering several factors that influence their overall decision. Pining over a lost attempt at a sequel and stating that anyone dropped the ball or are wondering about ‘the one that got away’ is the kind of thinking that tends to muddy the waters when trying to move forward. Those missed attempts are easy to lament but easier to look past as one moves on. Through a bit of luck, it’s always possible that such moments will come around again, but in this case, it won’t happen due to the unfortunate loss of Boseman, who probably would have been great in his given role. Still, one has to think that the WB saw enough of a reason to not go ahead with it simply because it wasn’t the right time. It’s not as though Boseman didn’t have a successful career without this movie, or that the other stars haven’t been in many upon many movies since that time.
Passing on the chance to make this sequel is one of the many missed opportunities, as people believe, that isn’t really a missed opportunity. It’s not a missed chance at greatness, and it’s not anything to pine over needlessly, since it’s a road not taken in a sea of roadways and paths that lead to many different possibilities. This is done every day and people don’t think twice about it, but not taking the road that would have led to a sequel of L.A. Confidential and many other movies is often seen as somehow tragic and inspires people to look back and ask ‘what if?’. The time to make a faithful sequel to the movie has probably come and gone by this point, but at the same time, it’s fair to state that WB might think about it again at some point. Ideas like this have a way of coming back around, but without Boseman, it would need someone at least close to his caliber to really spark any interest.
Again, it’s possible, but at this time one might as well face the facts and think that the sequel isn’t going to happen. There’s always a spark of hope to be had here and there, but this time it feels as though things aren’t going to turn out the way fans want, which does tend to happen quite often. But it might be for the best at this time since if Boseman was the main reason for bringing up a sequel, replacing him would be a tough call and a tough sell to a lot of fans.
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