Poker fans rejoice. The 20 year deal struck between the legendary producing team of the Weinstein Brothers and Miramax back in December of 2013 means the return of several beloved properties from the late 90's, including sequels to the Oscar-winning Shakespeare in Love and the cult hit Rounders. While the Shakespeare sequel sounds spectacularly unnecessary, fans have been clamoring for a return to the seedy world of underground poker for over 15 years. Released back in 1998, Rounders centered on young Mike McDermott, played by Matt Damon in one of his earliest starring roles, and his childhood friend Lester "Worm" Murphy, played by Edward Norton. The film's ending (spoiler alert!) was a bit open-ended, as it left off with Damon's character leaving town for Las Vegas to participate in the World Series of Poker Main Event.

According to Harvey Weinstein (via Indiewire), it appears that the stars of the film are both on board to return: “I've discussed making Rounders 2 with Matt Damon and I would say that’s going to be instantaneous. The guys (writers David Levien and Brian Koppelman) have a great idea, a way to make it more international where you start the card game in Paris, that’s all I want to say. There might be a certain beautiful Parisian actress involved in it, and then we’re off to the racetrack and Vegas with Matty and Edward Norton."

The notion that both Damon, last seen in George Clooney's The Monuments Men, and Norton, who can be seen this weekend in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel, are set to return is excitement enough. But it's the ideas put forth by the film's writing team of David Levien and Brian Koppelman that have online poker fans buzzing. In an email sent to the fine folks over at Grantland, the writers provide an interesting quote on what's happened with Norton's character, Worm, since the last film. "Here’s what happened after: Worm took full advantage of all the scamming opportunities presented by the Moneymaker/online poker boom. He joined up with a series of dodgy sites in distant locales, promoted, ripped off, profited like mad."

Levien and Koppelman are referencing, of course, the infamous boom in online poker activity that occurred in 2003, after Chris Moneymaker became the first person to win the World Series of Poker Main Event after qualifying at an online poker website. The effects of Moneymaker's win are still being felt today. This is evident at online casino Betfair, which averages well over 10,000 users at any given time throughout the day. They also provide players with a chance to participate in live poker events such as the 2014 Irish Open to potentially become the next Chris Moneymaker.

The star power of a Hollywood A-Lister like Damon, whose last two films (Elysium and The Monuments Men) combined to gross nearly $400 million, should be more than enough to get the project off the ground. Couple that with the ever-thriving online poker community, and this film should have no problem finding an audience capable of topping the $22.9 million gross of the original Rounders. Assuming, of course, that Damon can produce a slightly better performance than this disaster...




Drew Keller is a freelance writer and movie blogger. His preferred genres are action and heist movies but he covers a range of popular films and genres.