Butler's Sequel Dodges Trump's Greenland Drama
Director Ric Roman Waugh reveals how his disaster film team ignored real-world political noise while crafting a story about family survival and post-catastrophe trauma.
Gerard Butler returns as structural engineer John Garrity in the survival thriller that hit theaters amid unexpected real-world parallels. The sequel follows the Garrity family crossing Europe after an earthquake destroys their underground refuge in Danish territory.
Director Ric Roman Waugh finished filming and editing just as Greenland grabbed headlines for different reasons. President Trump's push to acquire the territory for military strategy created an awkward timing situation for the movie team.
Staying Focused Despite Outside Noise
When asked about the strange coincidence, Waugh explained their approach: "I would say we've done a really good job of blocking out the noise. We just stuck to our guns. I loved Chris Sparling's script of the first movie where it dealt with a family that was in their own internal crisis. A marriage was torn apart, and they were trying to find their sea legs again. Their kid wondered what the future of his family was until they were thrust into this life-or-death situation. So the second movie really had to have that for us."
The director emphasized family drama over geopolitics. "It's about the internal conflict of the family again, their own mortality and the legacy that you leave. We don't pull any punches. We told you we were going to scorch the earth [in Greenland], and we did it. Most comet movies don't do that; the asteroid is stopped."
Post-Pandemic Themes Take Center Stage
Waugh drew connections to recent global trauma. "After the pandemic and the trauma that us real people dealt with, it's no mistake why we put therapists in this second movie. For the movie, it's, 'What would it be like to be underground for five straight years? What would be the mental toll on people?' So we focused on the post-pandemic parallels as society was coming back and people were actually starting to live their lives again."
The focus stayed personal rather than political. "The focus definitely wasn't the politics of what's going on with nation building; it was much more about the societal stuff that we were dealing with at the time."
Butler Reflects on Real Disaster Scenarios
The Scottish actor shared his thoughts on actual catastrophe preparation. Butler told People Magazine: "You do start to think, 'What would that look like for me? Where would I go? How would I react, in terms of practical effect and the emotional and traumatic impact? How would I live through that?'"
He recalled a personal experience during the first film's release. "When the first movie came out, it was the start of the pandemic and I took an RV trip out deep into the mountains in Sedona, Arizona, and got lost there, and I remember thinking, 'There is nothing wrong in this moment.' This earth can sustain anything. And everything felt alright. I think when you're out in nature, which is really who we are, then things feel okay. Or at least, no matter how bad things are, they get a little better."