Haneef Adneni’s Malayalam film Marco made history as one of the ‘most violent’ films to be made in India. A few weeks after lead actor Unni Mukundan stated that he would not be a part of the sequel due to the ‘negativity’ surrounding it, the production house, Cube Entertainments, stated that they will be exploring the universe further. 

Marco 2 without Unni Mukundan?

A fan commented on the production house’s Instagram page about their interest in Marco 2, even if it’s with another production house. They replied, “Thank you for the overwhelming love and support for Marco. Discussions regarding the Marco series are still not over yet. Cubes Entertainments exclusively owns all rights to the Marco, and we firmly believe the journey of Marco holds immense potential. Please note: We are not open to transferring or sharing the rights of this franchise.”

Unni Mukundan won’t do Marco sequel

This comes after Unni made it clear in June this year that he would not like to play the character anymore. When a fan asked him about the sequel, he replied on Instagram, “Bro, apologies but I have dropped plans to continue the Marco series. Too much negativity around the project. I’ll try my best to bring something bigger and better than Marco. Thanks for all the love and positivity. Cheers.” When another fan commented, “Any chance for part 2?” he replied, “Absolutely no chance.”

The Mikhael universe

For the unversed, Unni played the first iteration of the character Marco in Haneef’s 2019 hit film Mikhael, which starred Nivin Pauly as the lead. Marco, the antagonist, is killed at the end of the film. However, the spin-off in 2024 explored another story involving his character, where Marco goes on a rampage after a loved one is murdered. Given that Marco’s story was rewritten once already, it’s possible the production house is looking to do it again with a different actor, given Unni’s disinterest.

The ‘negativity’ the actor speaks of is the criticism the film received for being too violent, especially in scenes involving women and children. Even the CBFC rejected a plea by the producers for a UA certificate for obtaining TV rights in February this year. In March, the film’s producer, Shareef Mohammed, said, “I will not make any film that apparently promotes violence from here on.”