Some cult classics are born from the great talent they feature, others get by on a good idea, and some are simply willed into existence by hardcore fans who spend a lot of money on DVDs and dorm room posters. The Boondock Saints, written by novice writer and director Troy Duffy during his breaks while bartending, is an example of the latter. The brutal crime thriller starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, and Willem Dafoe was a box-office failure that received a critical drubbing, but has since become something of a staple in the ultra-ruthless thriller subgenre.
Boondock Saints 3 In The Works, Troy Duffy, Norman Reedus, And Sean Patrick Flanery Returning. Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery are ready to go back to the boondocks. Reedus and Flanery will reprise their roles as the fraternal vigilante twins, Connor and Murphy MacManus, in “The Boondock Saints III.”
The producers of “John Wick” are aboard what’s being called a “reimagining” rather than a sequel to the cult film, but Troy Duffy is no longer directing.
A new take on “The Boondock Saints” is in the works with the 1999 cult film‘s original stars Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery reprising their roles as the MacManus Brothers.
Thunder Road Pictures, which produces the “John Wick” franchise and the upcoming “Monkey Man” from Dev Patel, announced it is teaming with the rights holder Dragonfly Films to the original 1999 cult film “The Boondock Saints” to jointly produce what’s being described as a “reimagining” rather than a direct sequel. Dragonfly Films also confirmed the news on its Instagram.
Reedus and Flanery both portrayed the Irish Catholic killers rooting out Boston crime all in the name of the Lord in the original film, and they also returned for the 2009 follow-up film, “The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day.” However, Troy Duffy, the story’s original director and writer, will not direct the new film but will produce it. He also plans to write a series of books about the Saints. A search for a new director is underway.
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Now, 25 years after the original film — and 15 years after The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day — the vigilante brothers are making one more trip to Boston, but there’s a twist.
According to Deadline, The Boondock Saints III is officially a go, and will see Flanery and Reedus reprise their roles as fraternal twins Connor and Murphy MacManus. However, there’s no word on Dafoe yet, and Troy Duffy will not return to direct the threequel, instead choosing to continue his version of the MacManus’ adventures in a book series.
The project has been a long time coming. The idea of a third film was first floated in 2011, but Duffy told IGN in 2012 that it wouldn’t happen. Another attempt happened later in the 2010s, but in 2017, Sean Patrick Flanery announced he and Reedus had backed out of the project.
But even that wasn’t enough to stop The Boondock Saints III, a movie that apparently must be made at all costs. In 2021, the threequel was again announced as being back on track, with its stars returning and Duffy back as director. That’s not the version coming to screens now — this current iteration is a “reimagining” looking for a director — but it will still follow the twins as they carry their vigilante missions against organized crime into their golden years.