Face/Off sequel is a long way off after writer's strike delayed script

The 'Face/Off' sequel is much delayed.

The follow-up to the 1997 action blockbuster starring Nicolas Cage and John Travolta has been heavily impacted by last year's writer's strike.

The flick's co-writer Adam Wingard told io9: "Almost in the middle of production [on Godzilla x Kong], we were finishing our draft of the script and because both of us were too busy working on other things there was a plan to do a rewrite, and we picked a writer to work on it.

"And then the writers' strike happened so that delayed things. Right now, that's still inactive, so I think the plan with that one will be that writer will continue working, and whenever that draft is done, Simon [Barrett, co-writer] and I will get it back and we'll take another crack at it."

The sci-fi action thriller saw Travolta play FBI agent Sean Archer and Cage terrorist Castor Troy.

Last year, Cage claimed the sequel will feature their children.

Speaking to Collider, he said: "I think 'Face/Off' is a sequel that lends itself to a lot of twists and turns and unpredictability.

"It's almost like if you factor in the idea of offspring and Castor and Sean having children and these children grow up, then it becomes like three-dimensional chess, and then it's not just the two, John Travolta and myself, it's four of us ping-ponging and going at different levels, and it becomes even more complex."

The 'Con Air' star said he had "one meeting" about the film and thinks there is "fertile ground" for ideas.

He said: "I think there's a lot of fertile ground there. I had maybe one meeting in an office, but I haven't heard anything since, so I don't know."

Cage's character died in John Woo's original film, but Wingard teased that the new instalment will be a sequel to allow the actor to return.