One thing is true in filmmaking: you never know what will be a hit with fans. Doug Liman’s futuristic teleportation sci-fi thriller Jumper came and went in 2008 with a fizzle, but it certainly sparked a lot of heated discussion among fans. In some ways, the release of Jumper reminds me of a lot of Alien vs Predator in that a lot of moviegoers voiced their scathing disapproval for the movie immediately following its theatrical debut. The only difference with AvP is that soon after fanboys handed their money over to the box-office machine like Pavlovian zombies, a sequel was already a go with the studio. Despite their venomous reaction to AvP, fans didn’t realize that the movie made it’s money back in the first week and they made it easy for 20th Century Fox to green light a sequel even though demand for a second installment didn’t exist. So, while there doesn’t seem to be demand for a sequel to Jumper, moviegoers might get one whether they want it or not. Judging by the newly released Jumper: Special Edition DVD, that might not be a bad thing in the long run if the sequel maximizes the potential of its concept and puts everything together the way the first film should have been constructed.

After securing the project at Fox, Doug Liman and crew had plans to turn Jumper into a trilogy. That’s the way the project was set up in the first place, which Liman reveals throughout the special features of the Special Edition. However, prior to the film’s February 14 release, the answer was upfront and obvious in the official press release synopsis, as it stated Jumper, "... begins the epic adventures of a man who discovers that he possesses the exhilarating ability to instantly teleport anywhere in the world he can imagine. From New York to Tokyo, from the ruins of Rome to the heart of the Saharan Desert, anywhere is possible for David Rice (Hayden Christensen), until he begins to see that his freedom is not total, that he's not alone." Although nothing is ever a guarantee in Hollywood, based on the pre-release press, it’s clear that Jumper was just the beginning.

It’s not hard to understand why Liman and crew were thinking of big Hollywood entertainment since the concept and story behind Jumper is the stuff that fanboys dream of while droning out their teacher or boss during a boring day at school or on the job. I mean, who hasn’t wondered what it would be like to be able to teleport/jump in time instantaneously to any location in the world, be it to battle other people with the same ability or to just get away for a few hours? I know I have, and it was usually when my girlfriend was yelling at me for something stupid, wishing I could "jump" to the Playboy Mansion or a private party at the Voodoo Lounge in Las Vegas. So, when you’re talking about "what if" movies, Jumper is certainly one of the cooler concepts out there. The thing is: Jumper didn’t make its money back at the box-office like AvP did, and yet it’s likely we’re still going to see a sequel. That’s big time confidence from a studio for a movie that barely broke even, if at all. Although making a movie is pretty much like rolling the dice in Vegas, it’s surprising to think that a studio would be willing to take that much more of a gamble.

Jumper: 2-Disc Special Edition Page 2