If you were holding out hope for a follow-up to the classic poker movie Rounders, it turns out all your dreams are not yet dashed.
At least according to Matt Damon who portrayed Mike McDermott, the original film’s hero. In the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast, Damon, along with longtime creative partner and frequent co-star Ben Affleck, joined Simmons on the pod to talk sports, friendship, and their new movie, Air.
However, late in the podcast, Simmons steered the conversation to the topic of other movies from the duo that he liked – including Rounders.
“Rounders 2…” Simmons said. “Lotta whispers right now, I know!”
“We’ve been talking about it for years,” Damon replied. “We’re investigating whether or not we can do it.”
The three then dive into a little bit of their own poker history highlighted by Damon recounting how, in conjunction with the movie, he, co-star Edward Norton, and screenwriter Brian Koppelman played in the 1998 Main Event. Damon admitted he didn’t get very far in the 350-player field, but he left with a good story.
“I made it to the afternoon but I lost,” Damon said. “I had kings…I shoved and Doyle Brunson had aces. It was unbelievable. It was the greatest story – I lost to Doyle Brunson.”
“But think about it,” Affleck chimed in. “If you were able to say now that you finished 89th in the World Series of Poker, you would have to be a world-class player.”
But before closing the book on the short Rounders segment, Damon made a comment about how the now classic film was received in late 1998 when it came out.
“That movie was a bomb,” Damon said. “It was years later…I think it was 2007 it went into the black.”
Of course, this isn’t the first time that the embers of a possible Rounders 2 have been stoked and, frankly, it isn’t much. But these rumors keep hanging around, hanging around.