The Big Picture
- A Taxi Driver sequel may undermine the impact and ambiguity of the original film's ending.
- Robert De Niro has expressed interest in a sequel, but the film's writer, Paul Schrader, strongly opposes the idea.
- Despite the unlikely possibility of a sequel, De Niro continues to leave the door open, stating that he would only consider it if it adds something meaningful to the original film's themes.
Martin Scorsese's 1976 neo-noir thriller Taxi Driver is one of the most acclaimed films ever made – a time capsule of post-Vietnam War paranoia whose hypnotic depiction of an after-hours New York City continues to entice critics and audiences alike, and one that can arguably call itself the highpoint of Scorsese and Robert De Niro’s legendary collaborations. (The two recently collaborated once again on The Killers of the Flower Moon.) And as with all films that achieve such fame, there’s no shortage of critical analysis to guide it on its way to the history books. Taxi Driver is a favorite amongst film lecturers for good reason – partly because of the eclectic range of sources Scorsese takes influence from that sees it acting as the culmination of decades worth of great cinema, but mostly because of the density of its thematic content. That the film still provokes such passionate responses almost 50 years on is a testament to its quality, but given how much has been written about it since its 1976 release, one wonders if all possible discussions on the topic have been exhausted.
Not exactly. The intimate relationship between Taxi Driver and the American national character ensures that fresh interpretations will always be around as long as the Stars and Stripes continue to fly, but there is one aspect of the film that has (perhaps intentionally) been brushed aside – the suggestion of a potential sequel. To hardcore cinephiles, the concept of a Taxi Driver sequel is paramount to sacrilege, but that hasn’t done anything to stop the whispers that continually threaten to usurp this sacred work. Interestingly, it’s Travis Bickle himself, Robert De Niro, who has been the most supportive of a follow-up, with the actor regularly championing the idea to Scorsese and Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader.
Taxi Driver
RPsychologicalThrillerNoir
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
'Taxi Driver' Was a Product of Its Time
On first impressions, the idea of returning to Travis Bickle after almost half a century is a ridiculous notion. Both Taxi Driver and its anti-hero protagonist are a product of a very specific era in the American mythos – a post-Vietnam, post-Watergate, morass of misanthropic bodies and disillusioned minds staggering through the failures of their still-romanticized nation. In Taxi Driver, New York City is the lynchpin for this urban decay, with Travis serving as a paranoid specter ferrying its inhabitants from one depraved encounter to the next. His cynical outlook on the world made him the ideal figurehead for an American film produced in the aftermath of two of the nation’s gravest self-imposed disasters, but it also ties him so heavily to this period that it’s hard to imagine him existing anywhere else.
Compounding this belief is the issue surrounding Taxi Driver's iconic ending where Travis is branded a hero by the media after taking it upon himself to rescue 12-year-old prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from her pimps. Much has been written about how truthful this ending really is, and the vagueness with which Scorsese presents these closing minutes invites the viewer to form their own conclusion – an invitation that would be rescinded by the mere existence of a Part 2. This isn’t to say that audiences couldn’t enjoy the original as a standalone piece, but it’s hard to imagine the ending having the same impact if you know there’s an official explanation playing in the cinema next door.
Robert De Niro Expressed Interest in a 'Taxi Driver' Sequel in the 1990s
CloseWith all this in mind, it’s surprising that rumors of a sequel have been so relentless. De Niro first mentioned the possibility of a continuation in the 1990s, and would repeat his interest multiple times over the subsequent decades. A turning point came in 2005 during a 25th-anniversary screening of Raging Bull when De Niro confirmed that a storyline featuring an older Travis Bickle was in development, with the actor reaffirming this shock revelation days later when he stated that he and Scorsese were discussing “what I guess you'd call a sequel to Taxi Driver.” De Niro would expand on his reasoning for wanting to reprise Travis years later in an interview with The Guardian when he said that “I'd like to see where Travis is today. There was something about the guy – all that rage and alienation, that's what the city can do to you. I mean Marty and I are from New York, and even we can feel alienated." It’s clear that Travis, more so than most (if not all) of the characters that De Niro has portrayed, left an indelible mark on the actor, explaining his fervent desire to revisit him during the later stages of his life.
It would take until the 2010 Berlin Film Festival for additional clarification about the project to come our way, with The Independent reporting that the prestigious event was ablaze with rumblings of a follow-up courtesy of De Niro, Scorsese, and arthouse provocateur Lars von Trier. At this stage, it was unclear whether the film would take the form of a sequel or remake (or, indeed, which of the two esteemed directors attached would take the top job), but De Niro was expected to return in the lead role regardless. Of course, this was all just speculation, but with von Trier's producing partner, Peter Aalbaek, refusing to outright deny the project and Scorsese happily adding fuel to the fire with a vaguely worded statement (“Bob De Niro and I are talking about something that has to do with that world. There's no doubt about that.”), it seemed that a Taxi Driver sequel was indeed on the horizon.
'Taxi Driver' Screenwriter Paul Schrader Hates the Idea of a Sequel
Or not. It’s been thirteen years since this sort-of announcement and Taxi Driver 2 is still no closer to reaching theatres. The reasons for this are plentiful, but the primary cause stems from the utter disdain that the original’s writer, Paul Schrader, had toward the idea. When Scorsese told Schrader that De Niro was interested in making another film, the notoriously blunt writer-director responded exactly as you’d expect him to. “I said, ‘That’s the stupidest fucking idea I’ve ever heard,’” as he recounted on an episode of The Q & A Podcast in 2019, with Schrader confirming that he provided a similar answer to De Niro during a lunch meeting shortly after. His comments echoed ones he has provided anytime he finds himself confronted by a possible Taxi Driver sequel or remake, and one can’t help but feel that Schrader’s 2013 assertion that Travis died six months after the film ended was his attempt at silencing this idea once and for all.
To be fair to Schrader, it’s easy to see why he would be reluctant to support a follow-up. Taxi Driver was an immensely personal project for him – written following a month-long self-destructive binge that had seen Schrader drifting between bars, pornography theatres, bars, his makeshift home (aka his car), and bars following a divorce from his wife and a breakup with his new girlfriend. Schrader would eventually be hospitalized for a stomach ulcer, and it was during his recovery period that he conceived the idea of a taxi cab (or as he described it, “a coffin”) as a method of exploring his own alienation and loneliness whilst living in the shadows of millions. Taxi Driver – which he hammered out in the space of just two weeks – was effectively a form of self-therapy for Schrader, and it’s understandable that he wouldn’t be overjoyed at the prospect of revisiting his dark period from his past.
That said, Schrader did provide De Niro the courtesy of at least considering his proposal, although how earnest his suggestions were remains unclear. During the aforementioned lunch meeting, Schrader proposed a film where Travis had relocated to a remote cabin in Montana, where he would spend his days writing in journals and mailing out bombs, thereby revealing him to be the infamous Unabomber Ted Kaczynski. De Niro, understandably, didn’t like that idea. You might think that the project died a brutal death then and there, but updates De Niro has since provided indicate that Schrader did make a genuine attempt at a screenplay for Taxi Driver 2, but gave up after realizing that “it just didn’t seem to work.” With Scorsese also displaying a reluctance to commit to the project (according to Schrader, he was never seriously onboard with it to begin with), it seems that Taxi Driver 2 is destined to become the cinematic equivalent of vaporware – a permanent nuisance vying for attention that will never have the good grace to disappear.
Robert De Niro Spoke About a 'Taxi Driver' Sequel in 2019
And yet, despite nothing indicating that Taxi Driver 2 will ever happen, Robert De Niro has continued to express his interest in revisiting his defining character. In a 2019 interview with GQ, the actor was asked if the sequel was still on the cards. “No,” was his opening remark, but barely two sentences had elapsed before he had neutered his response down to a “we’ll see.” Maybe that’s just never say, never talk, but given that discussions about the original are one of the few things capable of breaking his signature reserved persona, it’s possible that he refuses to let the possibility die. De Niro did clarify that he would only do a sequel if it made “a comment on the times and add[ed] to what that movie was,” countering the inevitable claims that such an undertaking would be pointless at best and heresy at worst, but it would take more than that to settle the minds of all those film lecturers worrying they’d have to re-plan their lessons.
But at the end of the day, is there really a justification to revisit this world? Spiritual successors like Joker, Fight Club, and You Were Never Really Here (alongside Scorsese’s own The King of Comedy and Bringing Out the Dead, the latter written by Schrader) have demonstrated the perfect way of repurposing the central themes of Taxi Driver for a new generation without being shackled by what had come before – a problem a Taxi Driver 2 would never be able to avoid. Not everything needs a sequel, especially one that tells a complete story with an intentionally enigmatic ending. Cinephiles everywhere can take comfort in the knowledge that it will likely never happen, although in this age of legacy sequels, who can proclaim that with certainty?
Taxi Driver is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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