Speculation has run rampant following the appearance of a supposed 8 Mile sequel movie poster online.
8 Mile was originally released in theaters in 2002, telling the true-to-life story of rapper Marshall "Eminem" Mathers (named Jimmy Smith Jr./B-Rabbit in the film) as he navigates his dreams of being a professional musician while dealing with a life of poverty in inner-city Detroit.
While the film ends just before Mathers' character gets his big break, that first bit of exposure shown in the musical drama was just the beginning for the real-life rapper. Eminem has gone on to sell millions of records, even supplying music for hit movies like the Venom franchise.
The 8 Mile Movie Sequel Rumors Explained
A certain contingent of fans are convinced a sequel to 2002's 8 Mile movie is on the way, thanks to the emergence of an alleged poster for the film online.
The poster responsible for this flurry of speculation, which first appeared on Facebook, seems to be for a movie titled, 8 Mile: Rise of a Legend.
The film seems to tease a direct follow-up to the Eminem biopic from over 20 years ago, supposedly showing the rapper's on-screen character's rise to fame following the events of that first movie.
This looks to include a meeting with a character akin to Andre "Dr. Dre" Young, aka the hip-hop legend that helped put Eminem on the map in the late 1990s.
While this supposed film sparked plenty of conversation amongst hip-hop fans, especially given how beloved 8 Mile has become since its 2002 release, this poster is sadly a fake. It is no more than the work of some enterprising social media users known for their speculative pieces of movie marketing.
In fact, this is not even the first time a supposed 8 Mile sequel has made the round online, with a similar-looking 8 Mile sequel poster popping up online in early September, teasing another potential B-Rabbit-centric follow-up.
However, no plans for an 8 Mile sequel have been made public, despite what some may be saying online.
Will An 8 Mile Sequel Ever Happen?
Despite no 8 Mile sequel being officially announced, that does not mean the movie will never happen.
The first film is beloved, earning critical acclaim upon release in 2002 and even winning an Academy Award that awards cycle for Best Original Song ("Lose Yourself").
Of course, the movie's star, Marshall "Eminem" Mathers, has aged quite a bit since then, making it a little harder to jump back in time to the rapper's humble beginning like the first film did. However, who is to say that a sequel following Mathers' career since then could not happen?
Just this year, filmmakers have proven that they can get creative when it comes to tackling the life of a musical great.
The recently released Pharrell Williams pseudo-documentary, Piece By Piece, opted to tell the story in LEGO form, so the look of characters from decades ago was not a problem.
Another instance of this kind of ingenuity can be seen in the upcoming Robbie Williams biopic Better Man, where the iconic British hitmaker will be depicted as a CGI ape.
While an 8 Mile sequel would likely not take either of these tactics, it is just worth mentioning how Hollywood is getting around some of the hurdles that something like an 8 Mile follow-up would butt up against.
Hollywood's spotlight on the music industry has shown no signs of slowing down. In just the next couple of years, there are plans to tackle the lives of Bob Dylan, Micheal Jackson, and Bruce Springsteen in feature-length biopics.
Clearly, there is an appetite for movies like 8 Mile. So, if Mathers were to be open to opening the book back up on depicting his story on film, studios would be eager to make it happen.
8 Mile is now streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
