The first trailer for the upcoming sequel to the film "Serf" directed by Klim Shipenko has been published on the Internet. The plot of "Serf 2" will revolve around the spoiled and arrogant Katya, who gets on a course of re-education, like the hero of the first picture Grisha. The character of Aglaia Tarasova will have to overcome many difficulties on the way to correction. In particular, not only to lose the usual comfortable existence, but also to be at the real stake, like a witch, and then also to survive the matchmaking of the protagonist, who will appear in the village on a luxurious carriage with servants.
"This is a rather bold story, told in understandable language, but very skillfully from the point of view of craft and creativity," Vokrug.TV quotes Milos Bikovic as saying. - It is not so easy to correct a person, repentance and work on oneself is a long process. At the end of the first film, we see that my character is ready for change, but is at the beginning of this difficult path. In the new part, Grisha will continue to work on himself, helping others to change.
Filming of the sequel was supposed to begin much earlier, but circumstances intervened: the COVID-19 pandemic paralyzed filmmaking, among other things. As a result, the first block of the second part of "Serf" began to be filmed in mid-2022, work continued in 2023. The creative team of the original tape enthusiastically took up the development of the story.
"We are trying to stay in that genre, to develop it, to make it more interesting, more beautiful ... I want to make an even more successful movie. Besides, I've never made a sequel. Here it was obvious that the viewer wants the story to develop. So this is also an experiment - with yourself, your profession," Klim Shipenko said in April 2023 in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Work on the second "Serf" captured the director so much that he missed the presentation of the state prize in the field of literature and art in the Kremlin - in June 2023, the director was noted for the film "The Challenge", partially filmed on the International Space Station.
In the filming of "Serf 2" involved almost the entire cast of the first film. According to Shipenko, this is due to his personal attitude to the performers of the roles.
"I love to shoot actors that I love. I'm a fan of them, and I want to work with them more and more - this is the kind of acting troupe that I have. And when I see that I have a role for one of them in a new film, I gladly give it to them. And Miloš is also one of my favorite actors. Therefore, he is also "Challenge" and, of course, in the second part of "Serf" will appear, "the director told the NDN.Info portal.
Ivan Okhlobystin, Alexander Samoilenko, Maria Mironova, Olga Dibtseva, Sofia Zaika and others also returned to their roles. As in the previous film, the "re-education" of the major will take place in a film village located near Pskov, but some of the scenes were filmed in other places. For example, in St. Petersburg, where traffic was blocked on several streets while working on the film.
- © Photos from the filming of the film "Serf 2" / Yellow, Black & White
The production budget of the original film amounted to about 160 million rubles, and the fees exceeded 3 billion, which made Shipenko's film the highest-grossing in the history of Russian cinema. The record was held until the beginning of 2023, when Dmitry Dyachenko's "Cheburashka" more than doubled the fees of "Serf".
Nevertheless, the undeniable financial success of the first tape allowed its authors to get a solid budget for the production of the second - 500 million rubles were allocated for filming, another 150 million are planned to be invested in marketing.
Shipenko is sure that the main reasons for the rise of the film series were humor and entertainment, and Ivan Okhlobystin is convinced that the main factor of popularity lies in the fact that the film is about love.
"This is a good film, without vulgarity, funny, for love - something that is lacking now. It is impossible to live without irony and a smile! I have little experience in upbringing, although there are many children. But I'm sure - except for love, a person does not understand anything, "the artist quotes Vokrug.TV.
"Serf 2" will be released on wide screens on January 1, 2024 - in the most convenient period for film distribution. Time will tell whether Shipenko's formula will work, and whether the sequel will be able to return the palm to the franchise at the box office, taking it away from Cheburashka, but the chances are high: the tape has practically no competitors during the New Year holidays.