The news that a new Face/Off is in the works initially had fans in a frenzy. How could you do something so egregious as to reboot one of the most beloved action thrillers of the 1990s? Mercifully, these worries were eased when it was revealed that the movie, directed by Godzilla Vs. Kong's Adam Wingard, will be a direct sequel, with Wingard now confirming that Face/Off 2 will be all about the original movie's hero and villain duo, Sean Archer and Castor Troy.

"Some people just assume when I say that that it just means it takes place in the world of Face/Off. To me, Face/Off isn't about a procedure or anything like that. It's not about the world that the characters exist in. It's about Sean Archer and it's about Castor Troy. That's what this movie is about. It's the continuation of that story. It's hard to talk about other than that but this is, to me, the definitive continuation of that saga."

While Wingard has not confirmed whether Face/Off stars John Travolta and Nicolas Cage are being sought-after to return, with the movie being scripted as a continuation of their story, it stands to reason that the filmmaker would want the actors back for at least a cameo.

Released in 1997 and directed by John Woo, Face/Off follows Sean Archer (John Travolta), an FBI Agent, who undergoes experimental plastic surgery in order to impersonate his son's killer and sworn enemy, Castor Troy (Nicolas Cage). While his initial missions goes well, the real trouble begins when Castor awakens from a coma and undergoes the same procedure and begins impersonating Sean.

Spoilers for a nearly 25-year-old movie to follow, but the movie ends with Sean killing Castor with a spear gun and returning home with his John Travolta face intact, having now adopted the son of his archenemy. Now, this has led many to wonder how exactly Castor Troy will be brought back into proceedings, but interestingly the original Face/Off did have an alternate ending in which Archer looks into a mirror, and Eve, his wife, sees Castor Troy's face as the reflection.

While it is currently unknown how Wingard plans to resurrect Castor Troy, or the Face/Off franchise as a whole, this could be a good way back in, dealing with the psychological damage as a result of wearing the villains face.

This is not the first time that Wingard has declared his passion for the first movie, and his determination to continue the same tale. "I would never make a remake of Face/Off," he said of the project. "I would never make a reboot. And I've seen a lot of people, even after I said that this is a direct sequel, they keep calling it a reboot hybrid sequel or remake hybrid sequel. It's none of that. This is Face/Off 2."

However, Wingard decides to do it, the director has also confirmed that he and frequent partner Simon Barrett are close to finishing the first draft of the script for Face/Off 2, and while things are looking good from their perspective, he is cautious of the reaction from the studio.

"They've read our outline. Everybody's on board with it but actually turning in the script's a different thing so we'll see how everybody reacts to it."

One thing is for sure, the sequel won't go ahead without the return of Archer and Troy in some capacity, with Wingard saying "The story is leading us in a very specific direction." This comes to us courtesy of Cheat Sheet. If you want to see the alternate ending it is available on |YouTube.