Sir Michael Caine is said to be coming out of retirement to star opposite Vin Diesel in a sequel to The Last Witch Hunter.
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According to a new report from Variety, the 92-year-old actor is set to step out of retirement for the new Lionsgate feature. Vin Diesel will also return to headline the film, which is being fast-tracked through development at Lionsgate and Diesel’s production banner, One Race Films.
Although a deal hasn’t been finalised for Zulu actor Caine, he is expected to reprise his role from the 2015 film, in which he played Dolan, a priest who guides Diesel’s warrior Kaulder as he fights to stop a plague started by a witch queen.
The original fantasy action film grossed just $27million in North America but had a stronger appeal overseas, earning $119million from international territories. It later took on a second life with the advent of digital and home releases, going on to become one of the most-watched films on Netflix this year.
If it materialises, The Last Witch Hunter sequel would mark Caine’s first film since announcing his retirement from acting in 2023, a decision he revealed aged 90, when promoting Oliver Parker’s The Great Escaper.
In the film, Caine played Bernie Jordan, a real-life World War Two veteran who escapes from his care home to attend the D-Day anniversary celebrations in France.
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“The only parts I’m liable to get now are 90-year-old men. Or maybe 85,” he said. “They’re not going to be the lead. You don’t have leading men at 90, you’re going to have young handsome boys and girls. So I thought, I might as well leave with all this.”
Caine had previously declared that he planned to retire following his role in the 2021 film Best Sellers, saying at the time that it would be his “last part”, but his representatives later clarified that he did not intend to stop acting.
“I’ve figured, I’ve had a picture where I’ve played the lead and it’s got incredible reviews,” Caine told BBC Radio 4’s Today show at the time. “The only parts I’m likely to get now are old men, 90-year-old men, maybe 85. And I thought, ‘Well, I might as well leave with all this — I’ve got wonderful reviews. What have I got to do to beat this?’”
The actor had his breakthrough role in 1964’s Zulu, before going onto star in dozens of classic films such as The Italian Job, Educating Rita, The Muppet Christmas Carol and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight trilogy.
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