Did Mohanlal and Prithviraj hint that Empuraan and Lucifer 3 will be shot simultaneously?

Mohanlal and Prithviraj Sukumaran officially announced that the pre-production works of Empuraaan, the much-awaited sequel of their 2019 superhit Lucifer, began a few days ago. The team had also shared a video, explaining how they were going about the film and their plans to meet the expectations of the audience with the big-budget movie, scripted by Murali Gopy.

Murali, who had completed the writing the screenplay a month ago, confirmed that the script of Empuraan has been locked. “A lot of people have asked if Empuraan is a sequel or prequel of Lucifer. It’s the second instalment of a three-part series,” he said.

Mohanlal further substantiated that the story of Lucifer as well as Empuraan is not something that can be contained in a single movie. “After Empuraan, people will be curious about what happens next,” the superstar said, adding that the film is mounted on a big scale and will have locations outside India as well.

Considering the budget of the movie and limitations of the Malayalam film industry, it does make sense to shoot at least a few portions of the third movie during Empuraan’s shoot schedule. In fact, Prithviraj had earlier in an interview stated that he was inspired by director Dijo Jose Antony’s thought of shooting portions that were meant for the sequel of Jana Gana Mana and use it as promos for the first film, an idea that he said he would have liked to try out for Lucifer.

Meanwhile, Prithviraj said that it’s still too soon to reveal when the movie will go on floors or its release date as they will be busy finalising the shoot locations, cast and dates in the coming weeks. “When we begin shooting, I hope to complete it in a streamlined process,” he said, adding that he plans to make Empuraan as a commercial entertainer but on a much bigger scale than Lucifer.

Mohanlal also added that considering the success of Lucifer, which also had Tovino Thomas and Manju Warrier, Empuraan is a huge commitment from the side of the audience as well as the team. “It's not easy to make a film taking that into consideration because the movie has stand above Lucifer,” he added.