‘Coolie'-director Lokesh Kanagaraj says he prefers ‘Master 2' with Vijay over ‘Leo 2'

The Hindu

12-05-2025

Tamil filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj, who is currently busy with the post-production of Coolie starring Rajinikanth, has revealed that he is more interested in doing a sequel to his 2021 film with Vijay, Master, than a sequel to their 2023 Lokesh Cinematic Universe film Leo.
This comes as a surprise to fans of Vijay and Lokesh since the fate of Vijay's Leo Das in Lokesh's cinematic universe has been in jeopardy — considering the star has announced his retirement from films — making it all the more natural to assume Lokesh would wish for Vijay to somehow greenlight Leo 2.
In a recent interview with film critic Sudhir Srinivasan, Lokesh was asked if the filmmaker is still hoping to make Leo 2. 'Only time can tell. Moreover, Vijay anna has to tell. While we can ask him to appear in a cameo role (in future LCU films), I actually wish to do Master 2 with him,' said Lokesh.
'There's a part of the story that is not said. I personally like watching him as JD; obviously, Leo is a strong character in LCU, and people love him, but I like JD more. I have a proper idea for a sequel, and even he is aware of it. But it is all about time...he now has something else in his mind to achieve,' added Lokesh.
Lokesh then answered whether he has to exclude Leo Das from his plans for the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. 'I am doing Kaithi 2 next, and then I have to do Vikram 2 also because that story remains incomplete; then it has to be Leo 2. Rolex is a standalone film, and I have an idea for it; Suriya sir and I have been talking about it for quite some time now. But for now, we have to lay down a play that doesn't feature Leo Das,' said Lokesh. 'Like how we didn't anticipate the birth of a cinematic universe while doing Kaithi, we couldn't have anticipated that Vijay anna would announce his retirement.'
'Kamal Haasan sir cannot do 'Coolie,' and Rajini sir cannot do 'Vikram''
In yet another instance during the interview, Lokesh quipped that Kamal Haasan, with whom he collaborated on the LCU film Vikram, cannot do Coolie, and that Rajinikanth cannot do a Vikram. Lokesh said this as an example to cite that he writes ideas that could only fit the star in the discussion.
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'When I begin working on a film, I would first start working on all those desires that I wish to realise as a fan of those stars. So while working on Coolie, I was looking forward to shooting these action set pieces that I had written,' said Lokesh, to which the anchor asked if these set pieces could be used in other films he makes in the future.
'How an action set piece would look in a Rajini sir and how it would in a Kamal sir film is like a mind game. So when I write some of these ideas, I write them specifically for the star,' he added.
Coolie, starring Rajinikanth, is set to hit the screens on August 14. The film boasts an ensemble star cast that includes Nagarjuna Akkineni, Upendra, Soubin Shahir, and Sathyaraj. Speculations are rife that Bollywood star Aamir Khan is also part of the project, while the makers announced that Pooja Hegde is set to play a special role. Shruti Haasan is the other prominent actor in the movie.
Lokesh had previously confirmed that Coolie will not be part of his popular film universe called the Lokesh Cinematic Universe, which includes movies such as Kaithi, Vikram and Leo.