A Few Thoughts on the "Fight Club" Sequel Proposal

There has been a lot of speculation as to why there was a special Fight Club panel at this weekend's upcoming Comic Con. Even in terms of retrospectives, it was the 15th anniversary of the David Fincher film (which came out in October) and the 18th anniversary of the book. Why was there a panel? Sure, the book's iconography spawned a million think pieces and several real-life imitators, but why is it relevant to Comic Con? It was then announced today that in fact, there was something going on. After a few loose lips last year, author Chuck Palahniuk has decided to go forward with a sequel to his most beloved work, this time in comic book form.
According to Palahniuk, the book is both a sequel and a prequel. The Narrator is now older and married to Marla with a son named Junior. Along with ties to Project Mayhem, he is in a crisis and needs to prove himself now that he is as neglectful of a father as the one who spawned him. It is also a story that flashes back to the origins of The Narrator through some key events. Much like "Fight Club" was a dissection of being part of a generation of college students unable to pay their student loans and stuck in this system, he plans to make the sequel a study of being older and having to deal with themes at that age.
Palahniuk is no slouch, especially as he will have released 15 additional books since his debut with "Fight Club" in 1996 and next year's sequel. His prolific nature is marked by books such as "Survivor," which ends with the protagonist dying in a plane crash. Excerpts of his book "Haunted" have been known to cause people to faint at readings. If nothing else, he is an author with unapologetic, aggressive narrations done through sparse, free flowing text. There is an immediacy to his work that makes him distinguishable to his other peers.
But why make a sequel to your most iconic work? For starters, has anyone shut up about Fight Club at least since the film? What he has made not only helped to launch Fincher's career, but spawned a film that still ranks in the Top 10 on IMDb's Top 250 highest rated films. There's relentless catchphrases and its glorification of violence is still misunderstood. However, the appeal of "Fight Club" was that The Narrator was just this guy who we knew nothing about besides that he was an insomniac. The text was coy with introducing iconic figure Tyler Durden in ways that reflect insightful writing. Now that everyone know's Durden's secret, what appeal does The Narrator have?
It isn't like there isn't a great reason to revisit old haunting grounds. It is a pastime for writers to revisit characters as they get older to understand their growths as well as those of the characters. Another prominent example is Irvine Welsh, whose tale of Scottish junkies in "Trainspotting" also became an iconic jump start for director Danny Boyle's career. He went on to revisit them in "Porno" as well as give them an origin story in "Skagboys." It may sometimes come across as a marketing gimmick, but one of the appeals of being a writer is expanding on your own universe. Your story is never done. For all we know, "Fight Club 3" will one day be a thing.
I don't want to write off Palahniuk's sequel. Even if the writer had no intention of making it mere years ago and it sometimes seems like he is doing it as fan service, I don't want to fault his vision. For starters, it is a curiosity as to why he is doing it in a comic book form. It seems more cutting edge, sure, but part of the appeal of "Fight Club" was imagining the surreal scenarios. Of course, we don't really know what is going to happen entirely. We barely have the characters and the mission statement.
Even then, I do feel like this is an exciting move that will hopefully invigorate a fresh take on "Fight Club." Speaking as while Palahniuk has yet to make something as culturally significant, it sounds like a mantra of subjects that would make the character more interesting. What happens when the angry young man becomes a bitter old fool? Speaking as he remains just as unrelenting as ever, we're likely to get some major surprises. The only issue is that one mustn't bring their sentiments into it, or else the vision will greatly be ruined. 
It may be a marketing gimmick, but it has now made the Fight Club panel a particularly investing use of my Comic Con news feed. I want to know what is going on. Also, with Fincher also being there, is there a chance that something bigger will be announced? Who knows. All I know is that I am not entirely ready to write off this sequel yet. The author is reliable and with a source material as influential as "Fight Club," it seems more strange that this didn't happen sooner. It could be good or bad, but so is every other piece of media out there. One cannot live off of skepticism and let it influence your thoughts on the prior work. 

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