Maximum Overdrive
star Emilio Estevez reveals that he wrote a bonkers script for a sequel. Released in 1986, the Stephen King adaptation features King himself in the director’s chair. Maximum Overdrive stars Estevez as Bill Robinson, one of a number of survivors who band together after homicidal machines come to life, with a cast that includes Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and J.C. Quinn. Despite the film falling flat critically and commercially, it has since become a cult classic, and there has been talk over the years of a potential Maximum Overdrive 2.
During a recent interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Estevez reveals that he actually wrote a script for Maximum Overdrive 2 during a Hollywood strike, though it’s not clear if he’s talking about the recent dual WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes in 2023 or one in the past. The actor teases that the sequel would have incorporated AI into the story, which featured an “insane” world and the appearance of celebrity chef Guy Fieri.
The project didn’t happen, however, as the franchise’s rights holder, the late producer Dino De Laurentiis (or his production company), passed on the idea. Check out Estevez’s recollection below:
“With the advent of more computer technology and AI and all of that, I started to imagine what a sequel to Maximum Overdrive would look like. And during the strike, I wrote one. I started page 1, I started an idea, now on I’m on page 10, I’m on page 20, now it’s 50 pages, and I can’t stop.
Dino De Laurentiis owns the rights to Maximum Overdrive. I created an insane world. He’s got his own diner, he’s got a young daughter, and he’s got his crew, his people. And Guy Fieri is coming to do ‘Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives’ on the day the world falls apart and machines turn. It was a cool idea. It’s a bitchin’ script, man. And De Laurentiis was like, ‘Nope. We have the rights to this. We’re not interested. We’re going to pursue our own thing.’ I was like, ‘Okay.’”
De Laurentiis passed away in 2010, meaning, if Estevez wrote the script in 2023, he would have been dealing with the De Laurentiis Company, not the man himself.
What This Means For Maximum Overdrive 2’s Chances
Will A Sequel Ever Happen?
With the De Laurentiis Company owning the rights, they control whether a sequel happens and who will write and direct it. Estevez, then, is seemingly out of luck with his particular script idea, but a sequel itself isn’t entirely dead. As the actor notes in his comment above, De Laurentiis said they are pursuing their own ideas for a new project in the franchise. This could be a sequel, or it could end up being a reboot of the King adptation.
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King has disowned Maximum Overdrive, but his son, Joe Hill, expressed interest in a 2020 interview on Post Mortem With Mick Garris in rebooting the property with a focus on self-driving cars. Hill’s response seemed to be more tongue-in-cheek rather than a project he was actively pursuing, however. Considering the original Maximum Overdrive‘s failure on all levels, a franchise expansion may never happen, even as new King adaptations continue to be released regularly.
The Monkey (2025) marks the most recent King adaptation to hit theaters, and it was a box office success.
Our Take On Estevez’s Maximum Overdrive 2 Script
Why A Reboot Makes More Sense Than A Sequel
While Estevez’s idea for more Maximum Overdrive sounds completely wild in an interesting sort of way, it’s not surprising it never ended up coming to fruition. Making a sequel with original cast members would be a major financial risk, as it would likely be a challenge to get a large audience interested. With few having showed up for Maximum Overdrive, and fewer still seeming to have enjoyed the movie, there’s no reason to believe another film would be successful.
The idea of machines coming to life and becoming homicidal could be spun as a more blood-soaked horror take on Transformers.
If the world of Maximum Overdrive ever does return, a reboot seems most likely. The idea of machines coming to life and becoming homicidal could be spun as a more blood-soaked horror take on Transformers. It remains unclear whether more Maximum Overdrive will ever happen, but Estevez evidently has a script ready to go should anyone ever come calling.
Source: Josh Horowitz