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Con Air 2 (Set in Space)

Title: Con Air 2: Orbital Outbreak

Premise: In the year 2035, Cameron Poe (Nicolas Cage), now a decorated ex-Army Ranger turned private security consultant, is drawn back into action when a high-security prisoner transport mission aboard a state-of-the-art space shuttle goes catastrophically wrong. The shuttle, dubbed “Starbird,” is designed to transfer the galaxy’s most dangerous criminals to an off-world maximum-security prison on a lunar colony. However, a brilliant and ruthless inmate masterminds a takeover, threatening to crash the shuttle into a major city on Earth or weaponize its advanced technology.

Plot:

• Opening: Cameron Poe, now in his late 50s, has settled into a quieter life, training security forces and spending time with his grown daughter, Casey, and wife, Tricia. Haunted by the events of the original Con Air, he’s sworn off high-risk missions. However, when a classified government contract calls for his expertise on a first-of-its-kind prisoner transport to the Moon, Poe reluctantly agrees, driven by a sense of duty and a promise to protect a young marshal, Ellie Larkin (a nod to Vince Larkin, played by a new actor), who’s the daughter of his old ally.
• The Setup: The Starbird is a sleek, heavily armed shuttle carrying a roster of intergalactic criminals, including a cyber-terrorist genius, Zara “The Singularity” Voss (a charismatic villain, possibly played by a high-profile actress like Anya Taylor-Joy or Charlize Theron). Voss, imprisoned for hacking global defense systems, has orchestrated a covert plan to seize the shuttle. The prisoners include a mix of familiar archetypes—brutish enforcers, cunning manipulators, and a wildcard like Steve Buscemi’s Garland Greene from the original, perhaps a quirky hacker named “Nebula” who’s morally ambiguous.
• The Hijacking: Mid-flight, Voss exploits a flaw in the shuttle’s AI system, disabling security protocols and freeing the prisoners. The crew is killed or captured, and Poe, posing as a low-key consultant, must bide his time. The hijackers aim to redirect the shuttle to a rogue space station controlled by a black-market arms dealer, where they plan to sell the shuttle’s weaponry or use it to hold Earth’s governments hostage.
• Poe’s Counterplan: Poe teams up with Ellie and a small group of surviving crew members, including a grizzled pilot, Captain Dax (possibly played by someone like Jon Bernthal), who’s skeptical of Poe’s old-school heroics. Using his Ranger training and improvisational skills, Poe navigates the shuttle’s zero-gravity environments, sabotaging the hijackers’ efforts. The action includes inventive set pieces: zero-G combat, EVA (extravehicular activity) sequences outside the shuttle, and a tense standoff in the shuttle’s reactor core.
• Escalation: Voss reveals her true plan—not just escape, but to crash the shuttle into a major city (e.g., New York or Shanghai) unless her demands for global system access are met. The stakes are raised when Poe learns Casey, now a journalist, is covering the crisis from the ground and could be in the impact zone. Meanwhile, on Earth, a government task force debates shooting down the shuttle, risking Poe and the innocents aboard.
• Climax: Poe and his makeshift team stage a daring assault to retake the cockpit. The climax unfolds in a high-stakes spacewalk where Poe must manually override the shuttle’s navigation system while fending off Voss’s enforcers. Ellie proves her mettle, taking down a key henchman, and Dax sacrifices himself to ensure the shuttle’s survival. In a final confrontation, Poe outwits Voss in a psychological and physical duel, leveraging her overconfidence.
• Resolution: With the shuttle diverted to a safe lunar landing, the surviving prisoners are recaptured, though Nebula escapes, hinting at future chaos. Poe reunites with his family, passing the torch to Ellie as a new generation’s hero. The film ends with Poe gazing at the stars, a nod to his enduring resilience, with a humorous quip about never flying again.

Tone and Style: The film retains the original’s blend of high-octane action, tongue-in-cheek humor, and over-the-top villainy, updated with sci-fi flair. Think Con Air meets Gravity or The Expanse, with Cage’s signature charisma anchoring the chaos. The space setting allows for visually stunning sequences, while callbacks to the original (e.g., Poe’s iconic mullet in a flashback or a bunny toy for Casey) keep the cult-classic vibe alive.

Notes on Development

• Source Context: Director Simon West’s 2022 comment about a space-based Con Air 2 was speculative, not a confirmation of active development. He emphasized Nicolas Cage’s involvement as key, given Cage’s openness to unique roles. No studio announcements or casting details have emerged since, and the project remains hypothetical.
• Challenges: A space setting risks alienating fans of the original’s gritty, grounded feel, and the budget for space-based VFX could be substantial. Cage’s age (61 in 2025) might require a more strategic, less physically intense role for Poe, focusing on wit and leadership.
• Alternative Inspiration: The upcoming 2025 film Flight Risk, starring Mark Wahlberg, has been described as a spiritual successor to Con Air due to its airplane-hijacking premise and antagonist-driven plot. While not a sequel, it suggests the enduring appeal of Con Air’s formula.