Quick Links
When the Christian thriller filmSound of Freedomwas released last summer, no one could imagine that it would become thesurprise box-office hit of 2023and the past decade, especially since the film was distributed and marketed through a crowdfunding campaign launched by Angel Studios,a fledgling film distribution and production company with no track record of major box-office success.
Of course,Sound of Freedomdefied all expectations byoutperforming the summer’s supposed blockbusters,Indiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyandMission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, both of which had production costs in the vicinity of $300 million. In comparison,Sound of Freedomwas produced for less than $15 million. Given the unexpected blockbuster success of the movie, which stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former United States government agent who risks his life to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia,a sequel seemed inevitable.
However, just over one year after the release ofSound of Freedom, speculation regarding a possible sequel has turned to silence.The development of a sequel has been hindered by a dispute over who presently owns Ballard’s life rights, which were previously acquired in 2015 by co-writer and director Alejandro Monteverde. While it seems unfathomable that the development of a sequel has seemingly stalled, the complicated sequel rights dispute has the potential to delay its arrival for the foreseeable future as all parties involved scramble to gain a piece of what could be an extremely lucrative franchise.
Sound of Freedom Is a Victim of Its Own Success
Sound of Freedom
If the box-office performance ofSound of Freedomhad been comparable to that ofother Angel Studios films, none of which have grossed more than $20 million at the domestic box office, it’s unlikely that there would be any conflict over sequel rights, as there wouldn’t be a sufficient financial motivation with which to fight over this.
However, the blockbuster success ofSound of Freedom,which grossed over $250 million at the worldwide box office, has inspired everyone involved with the film, as well as external figures, to battle over their share of the proverbial pie, given the expected commercial success of a sequel.
Related:The Scariest Movies About Being Kidnapped, Ranked
The film’s profitability was greatly enhanced in December 2023, whenPrime Video releasedSound of Freedomon its streaming platform after Prime secured the streaming rights for an undisclosed price following a bidding war. It’s ironic that whileSound of Freedom, which was filmed in 2018, was ostensibly created and distributed with the purest of intentions, the film’s surprising success has proved to be somewhat of a curse, especially in terms of preventing a sequel from being made.
Who Owns the Sound of Freedom Sequel Rights?
IfSound of Freedomhad been distributed by a major Hollywood studio, any dispute over sequel rights would have been settled before the film was released, as is standard practice in Hollywood. However, because it was distributed by Angel Studios, a relatively immature independent distributor, this issue was left unsettled.
When Alejandro Monteverde secured the life rights ofSound of Freedomprotagonist Tim Ballardin 2015, there was no expectation that the film would ever become successful enough to warrant a sequel. While Monteverde originally wanted to present Ballard’s story within the larger context of theglobal child sex trafficking industry,Monteverde decided to streamline the script forSound of Freedomby presenting the film as Ballard’s origin story.
Related:Exclusive: Sound of Freedom Director Alejandro Monteverde Clears the Air
Following the release ofSound of Freedom, Monteverde revealed that he’d written a sequel script that focused on the formation of Ballard’s anti-trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad, and Ballard’s rescue missions in Haiti. However,progress on the sequel was halted in August 2023, when producer Mike Ilitch Jr., who had no involvement with the film, claimed to have gained exclusive ownership of Ballard’s life rights for the purpose of developing a sequel with Ballard.
If this is true, it creates a likely scenario in which Angel Studios presumably owns theSound of Freedomtitle and could, therefore, move forward with a spin-off sequel with a new protagonist, whileIlitch could produce a direct sequel toSound of Freedomunder a different title, ostensibly with Jim Caviezel returning to play Ballard.
It’s a unique conflict, which seems most likely to be resolved through an agreement between the two sides, especially as Ilitch would benefit from having Angel Studios and Monteverde, given their strong relationship with faith-based audiences, attached to anySound of Freedomsequel. Regardless, there is too much money to be made from a sequel for this dispute to linger indefinitely.
A Sound of Freedom Sequel Needs Jim Caviezel
DespiteJim Caviezel’s Hollywood outcast statusand probably because of it, the success ofSound of Freedomproved that Caviezel is a major box-office draw for faith-based audiences, to whom he became an iconic figure following his performance as Jesus Christ in the 2004 biblical drama filmThe Passion of the Christ.
To the extent thatSound of Freedombecame a rallying cry for faith-based audiences against Hollywood and other cultural institutions, this is most clearly manifested in the presence of Caviezel, whose attachment to the film was essential to its success. Caviezel’s appearance in aSound of Freedomsequel is vital to establishing the franchise as an enduring and profitable series.Sound of Freedomis streaming onPrime Video.
