Universal Studios announced today that Death Race 2 began principal photography recently in Cape Town, South Africa. The prequel to Paul W.S. Anderson’s re-imagining of Roger Corman’s grindhouse cult classic stars Luke Goss (Hellboy 2: The Golden Army), Ving Rhames (Con Air, Pulp Fiction), Sean Bean (National Treasure, Lord of the Rings trilogy), Danny Trejo (Planet Terror, “Burn Notice”), Frederick Koehler (“Oz,” “Touching Evil”) and Lauren Cohan (“Supernatural”) and promises even more outrageously outfitted muscle cars and death-defying stunts in a deadly driving competition. Director Roel Reiné takes the helm of the adrenaline-fueled chronicle of Frankenstein, the greatest Death Race driver of all time. The screenplay is by Tony Giglio (Chaos), from a story by Paul W.S. Anderson.
The DVD Original is produced by Paul W.S. Anderson and Jeremy Bolt and executive produced by Paula Wagner and Mike Elliott. Death Race 2 is an official South African/German Co-Production, produced in South Africa by Universal Pictures Productions GmbH and Moonlighting Death Race Films C.C. and co-produced by Genevieve Hofmeyr and Ralph Tuebben.
Other DVD Originals’ releases include Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior and the recently released Smokin’ Aces 2: Assassins’ Ball.
Death Race 2 takes place in the very near future, as the United States economy begins to decline and violent crime starts to spiral out of control. To contain the growing criminal population, a vast network of for-profit, private prisons spring up, creating a lawless subculture ruled by gangs, cold-blooded killers and sociopaths. The worst of these prisons is Terminal Island. Convicted cop-killer Carl Lucas arrives on the Island to serve his life sentence just as ruthlessly ambitious television personality September Jones launches the ultimate reality show, Death Race. A brutal prison yard demolition derby that pits prisoners against each other in steel reinforced, heavily armed vehicles, Death Race offers the winner the ultimate prize: freedom — if he can survive to enjoy it. When Lucas signs up to be a driver, the stage is set for the birth of a legendary racer.