Director Lokesh Kanagaraj on shelving Leo 2, and final line-up of his universe

In an interview recently, filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj shared that he has got three more films to direct as part of his cinematic universe, after which he will wrap it up. The director also talked about not making Leo 2 because of Thalapathy Vijay's retirement from the movies.

In Short

• Lokesh Kanagaraj on expanding LCU and cancelling Leo 2
• He said Kaithi 2 and Vikram 2 are planned, along with a stand-alone film on Rolex
• The director shared that LCU started as a crossover, but evolved into a cinematic universe

Filmmaker Lokesh Kanagaraj is busy expanding and at the same time wrapping up his cinematic universe, called LCU. In an interview recently, he talked about the final number of films he is set to make as part of the universe, and Thalapathy Vijay's Leo 2, which stands cancelled now.

Lokesh spoke to The Hollywood Reporter and mentioned that Kaithi was the first film that he ever made as part of the universe, and he will be going to take it forward in LCU. The director confirmed not making Leo 2, owing to Vijay's announcement of film retirement. He also revealed that he has plans for making Vikram 2 with Kamal Haasan, and a stand-alone film about Fahadh Faasil's character, Rolex, which will end his universe.

"I will be working next on Kaithi 2. I want to make a separate film on Rolex. And then I want to end the universe with Vikram 2. Had Vijay Sir not announced his retirement, I would have made Leo 2 as well," he said.

"Kaithi 2 is my home ground"

Lokesh described his plans for Kaithi 2. He shared that he has finished writing the second part and is proud of the way his protagonists fight for injustice and their families in films. "I finished writing Kaithi 2, and my whole team is excited. When it comes to Kaithi 2, it is like my home ground. It all started with Kaithi. I am so excited to bring back Dilli character and unleash him. My protagonists don't have superpowers. They are normal humans who fight with enemies to save their family. They are emotionally tendered and want to achieve a drug-free society," he explained.

The director is aware of a recurring theme in his films. He often tries to show his characters battling drug abuse and most of his stories focus on a man's fight to protect his family. Lokesh talked about exploring the same themes in his upcoming films and said, "I want my commercial films to have some takeaway. When the heroes try to bring a drug-free society in films, there is a high chance it might impact the younger audience who look up to their idols. Now I have all my characters ready, and I just need to connect the dots."

The popular Tamil director, who is credited for launching the first cinematic universe in the South Indian film industry, also revealed that he never initially thought about making a big universe, but was interested in cross-overs. "When it comes to the universe, I just started as a crossover. As I began to develop, I found space to make it much bigger, and it was accepted and appreciated by many," he said.

Lokesh recently announced Benz with actor Raghava Lawrence. The film, which is a part of LCU, is not directed by him. In the first glimpse video, released last month, the director announced that he has written the film and will be producing it, while it is being directed by Bakkiyaraj Kannan.