Hollywood is no stranger to raiding toy shelves and turning whatever it finds into movies. On paper, it looks like they absolutely shouldn’t work, but they broke blockbuster records and became fan favorites around the world. Studios signed on to projects like “Lego Movie,” “Transformers” and “Barbie” and made millions, even billions in some cases, proving that certain ideas, when handled well, can really hit the mark. However, on rare occasions, some miss the mark with the masses, and in 2011, Hugh Jackman stepped into the ring with one, alongside a director he would do a few rounds with in the following years.
Director Shawn Levy’s “Real Steel” was essentially “Rock ‘Em, Sock ‘Em Robots: The Movie,” but was actually loosely adapted from “Steel,” a short story by “I Am Legend” author Richard Matheson, which was originally adapted for “The Twilight Zone” as an episode in 1963. The story follows Jackman as retired boxer Charlie Kenton, forced out of the ring by robot fighting, now a sport great public. Set in the futuristic year of (checks notes), 2020, Kenton finds himself making a comeback after discovering a “bot” destined for scrap and training it to become a champion.
Boasting the supporting talents of Evangeline Lilly, Anthony Mackie and Kevin Durand, “Real Steel” had all the elements to become a family hit. Obviously, local theaters screwed up, because even though the film grossed massive numbers worldwide, “Real Steel” ended up being a box office bomb on its home turf.
Real Steel returns as a modern cult classic
With a budget of $110 million, “Real Steel” raked in a commendable $300 million at the worldwide box office, of which only $85.5 million came from North American theaters. Reviews have also been quite warm towards Jackman and Levy’s robot-fighting flick, with the film earning a 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, and it has been mostly praised for being excellent, CGI-heavy entertainment for fathers and sons. Stephen Holden of The New York Times wrote, “All things considered, it’s a well-crafted, confidently paced entertainment, although its necessary subplots are little more than dutiful filler sandwiched between the fight sequences.” James White of Empire also compared it to classic boxing films, saying “it’s not quite in Balboa’s weight class, but ‘Real Steel’ at least has some heft.”
It would be 11 years before Jackman and Levy would reunite (save for an appearance in “Free Guy”), joining Ryan Reynolds for “Deadpool & Wolverine,” which became the pair’s most successful project to date. With over $1 billion in box office revenue, it is now the most successful R-rated film of all time. With that kind of distinction under their belt, it feels like anything the two men team up on would get an obvious green light, so why haven’t we heard the bell ring for a second round of “Real Steel” that fans are so desperate to see?
A return to Real Steel has been attempted in film and television
In an interview with Joblo, Levy admitted that the thing fans ask him the most about is another chapter of “Real Steel.” “We’re approaching ten years on Real Steel, and there’s still not a week that goes by that I don’t get asked at least once — and usually more than once — in real life, or in an interview, or on social media, ‘A sequel? A sequel?'” Levy said in 2021. Unfortunately, some things went wrong to get things going, including an initial effort to create a TV series for Disney+ in 2022 (via Variety) that never really came to fruition.
In a 2024 report from Screen Rant, Levy revealed that the love for his banged-and-bruised robot film hasn’t faded, nor has the prospect of a sequel. “We’re still talking about ‘Real Steel 2’. Because the world won’t let us forget, and I’m happy about that.” Unfortunately, as things stand, we may have to wait a little longer, given Levy’s incredibly busy schedule. In addition to the imminent release of “Star Wars: Starfighter” and its new “Ghost Rider,” both starring Ryan Gosling, plans are already in place for a sequel to “Deadpool & Wolverine.” Maybe when the blasters cool down and the hellfire management calms down, Levy could finally get real and give the fans what they’ve been asking for.
