- If introducing a new Guardian don't make it rehash of the first film have this new character be the total opposite of Jack but unique enough to form dynamics with the team
- Since we already know the origins of the guardians maybe the second movie deals with the existence of other idols like St. Lucia, Mrs. Claus, Leprechauns, Mother Goose
- DON'T make it a Christmas/Halloween movie have it focus on another holiday or a lesser known one. Or not a holiday at all
- A brand new antagonist: maybe someone with a deeper connection to Man in Moon, or maybe a group of rival entities, or maybe antagonists from the og books or a villain with fire/light powers (cliche i know but since ice is typically an "evil" power it can work)
- Maybe Jack gets a new outfit reminiscent of his previous clothes as a sign of his mastery
- Jamie and the neighborhood kids make cameos or play a much larger role as Secret Keepers.
A very long--and I mean really really super duper loooong--post about ROTG 2
So, I’ve had this idea about a second Rise of the Guardians movie for a long time (I mean, who hasn’t, right?). But I thought about it so much that I’ve started a Google Doc to put every new detail down so I didn’t lose anything as the weeks and months passed.
And since no one I know wants to listen to me rant about this movie (again) I’ve decided to share it with the lovely world of Tumblr. And although I don’t necessarily expect anyone to read it all the way through because of how lengthy it is, I still appreciate you even if you read just a singular bullet point.
I did a lot of research from the books, sifting through several websites and even Wiki article or two. I think I’ve comprised a decent outline for a movie, but I am also just an overly enthusiastic fan, so please feel free to call me out on my obsession.
That said, click “Keep Reading” if you feel like exploring over two-thousand words’ worth of crazy frantic writing.
Pitch Black Origin
Kozmotis Pitchiner: Guardian of Innocence
Much like the Kozmotis in the novels, part of his job was to guard a cage full of certain undesirables.
Over time, children started losing their innocence younger and younger, giving Kozmotis nothing to protect or derive any power from. Being a guardian with nothing to protect made him feel obsolete, thus growing angry and bitter.
Like the other Guardians, Kozmotis’ personality reflected the aspect childhood he guarded. He was kind and believed in the good of others, making him gullible at times--and perhaps a little naive.
Since his personality reflects the fragment of childhood he guards, as innocence among children began to dwindle, so too did Kozmotis’ kindness and compassion for others.
In his rage, Kozmotis opened the cage he was supposed to be guarding and caused the Dark Ages. For this, MiM took his title as guardian, making Kozmotis even more malevolent than he already was. This anger warped him and turned him into Pitch Black, an entity of Fear rather than Innocence.
This concept was adapted from the novel, in which Kozmotis releases a horde of Fearlings that posses him. However, in the first movie, Pitch uses Fear as a weapon. They are manifestations he creates himself, and not separate beings that posses him, thus the slight change in the story.
MiM sent the remaining Guardians (North, Bunny, Tooth, Sandy) to strip Pitch of his power, resulting in his disappearance until the time when the first movie is set.
Mother Nature
An ancient spirit and a messenger sent by MiM.
She informs the Guardians of their new mission which, to their surprise, is saving Kozmotis Pitchiner.
Her powers include controlling/ becoming elemental forces, plant manipulation, empathy, and healing.
Her position is one higher than the Guardians’, but lower than MiM.
Though she has never met any of the Guardians face to face, she is very familiar with Jack Frost due to his constant use of the winds to travel and frequent manipulation of the weather. Jack, like the other Guardians, has never seen her before, and is uncomfortable with how much she seems to know about him.
Mother Nature tries to talk with Jack, which makes him suspicious of her, but she genuinely just wants to talk with him. She comes to realize that the reason Jack is so weary of her talking to him is that none of the Guardians had done it prior to Pitch’s attack, so it is understandable that Jack would question her motives.
She is actually infuriated with the Guardians for their lack of contact with the young soul, demanding an explanation from them. Upon hearing several bland excuses--inexperienced, mischievous, never had time--she tells them how much Jack had seen in the past three hundred years, like war and slavery and watching kids grow up around him and passing away.
Though she’s certainly full of sass and attitude, she also plays a motherly role to Jack once he’s more relaxed around her.
Katherine
A tribute to the Katherine in the novels, she is the key to defeating Pitch Black and bringing back Kozmotis, although she doesn’t realize it yet.
She is introduced to the Guardians by Jamie, with whom she goes to school with.
Jack, still sort of a wandering spirit, oftens visits Jamie and his friends. After explaining what’s happening with Mother Nature and Kozmotis, Jamie remembers a friend his, Katherine, who is frequently plagued by nightmares.
Jamie and his friends arrange a secret meeting with the Guardians under the guise of a sleepover.
Katherine is extremely skeptical of Jamie and friends’ story of the Guardians. She, like most children, believes in Santa Claus, Tooth Fairy, etc. but the idea of them saving all the children of the world from a villain named Pitch Black seems ridiculous.
After seeing the Guardians, Katherine no longer thought the Pitch idea was so far fetched, but it did take a little time for her to start believing in Jack Frost.
Katherine finally tells Jamie that she will help the Guardians save Kozmotis, especially if it will get rid of her nightmares.
Finding Pitch Black
Mother Nature informs the Guardians that Pitch is still being held hostage by his own fear. Meaning that they are going to have to conquer the Nightmares once again in order to save Kozmotis.
Pitch’s realm has always been in the shadows. More specifically, the Boogeyman was well-known for hiding under beds, leading the Guardians and Mother Nature to believe that path that will lead them to him resides under Katherine’s bed.
After finding their way to the Nightmares’ domain, they come to realize that there is no source of natural light that is staying lit for very long. No sunlight reaches the tunnels, a torches burns out faster than it should, and Mother Nature’s bioluminescence fades almost instantly.
However, once Jack joins them in the tunnels, they soon realize he is radiating blue light. This magical light is what gives them visibility on their journey. Mother Nature explains the aspect of childhood Jack protects is what causes the light to appear when surrounded by Fear.
In the first movie, when Jack was overwhelmed by the Nightmares, he actually appeared to be glowing (we can see the blue light shining through the wall of darkness). This detail is a nod to both this scene and his former identity Nightlight in the novels.
This also serves as a symbol to the correlation between Fear and the aspects of childhood that the Guardians protect. While Fear can damage Hope, make us lose sight of our Dreams, and forget the things that make us happy, it also plays a huge role in the aspect of Fun. Activities such as riding roller coasters, climbing trees, swimming in lakes, etc can be enjoyed in spite of being afraid. In fact, most times, it is this adrenaline that makes things fun in the first place, which is why Jack shines so brilliantly amongs all the Fear.
While he can radiate light and use his power over winter at the same time, it drains him to the point of exhaustion (as seen in the first movie), so when confronted by Nightmares in the tunnels he is torn between fighting and illuminating the battle.
Of the five Guardians, Jack is still the one that finds it easiest to talk to children. Katherine is adventurous, much like Jack, and they get along fairly well. He has been the one watching over her for most of the journey. Mother Nature is perhaps the only other member of the group Katherine talks with openly, mostly due to her motherly tendencies.
The Guardians’ Relationship With Pitch Black
When Kozmotis was Guardian of Innocence, he was well-liked and respected by his fellow Guardians. Jack, at first, doesn’t understand why they are helping Pitch Black considering all he had done to them. But his fellow Guardians explain along their journey that it’s not really Pitch they’re helping, but rather a friend they’re saving.
Since Innocence ties in so closely with Wonder, Kozmotis and North were perhaps the closest of the original five.
North, though clearly ready and willing to save Kozmotis, also seems very hesitant to talk about him at all. As close as they were, North never really got over Kozmotis’ disappearance.
The other Guardians are willing to discuss Kozmotis and explain who he was to them, but North simply refuses to do so. His unwillingness to talk alludes to the nesting dolls in the first movie, representing North’s layers--or walls--that he has built up, especially around the subject of Kozmotis.
During Kozmotis’ decline in power he frequently visited Tooth, who was an unending well of optimism, to try and cheer himself up.
Pitch had to have known the power the teeth held before the Dark Ages, otherwise he never would have found out (due to MiM revoking his title). If he visited Tooth while a Guardian, it would explain the knowledge he had about the teeth in the first film, and how he was able to use it to his advantage.
Sandman wasn’t nearly as close to Kozmotis as North was, but the two of them certainly respected each other. Kozmotis communicated with Sandy easily, often interpreting for the others, or alerting them when Sandy had something to say.
The rivalry between Sandy and Pitch doesn’t occur until the Dark Ages. Despite how much they respected each other, Sandy had zero hesitation about bringing him down, which is what made Pitch so afraid of him in the first movie.
None of the Guardians consider Pitch and Kozmotis to be the same person. Sandy explains that as soon as Pitch rose to power, their friend completely disappeared. In their eyes, Pitch using Fear as a means of power was just the same as killing Kozmotis.
Bunny, surprisingly, was good friends with Kozmotis. He would often use Kozmotis’ nativity and gullibility against him in terms of practical jokes. Kozmotis would often retaliate by pulling his own pranks.
Jack is surprised by Bunny’s explanation of Kozmotis, particularly the part where Bunny partook in childish antics with him. It seemed incredibly out of character for him, although we do see those traits returning in Bunny at the end of the first movie (especially in the scene with Sophie).
It is implied that Bunny’s hatred of Jack was never really about Jack’s trouble-making personality (though he was still angry about the Easter that Jack ruined with a snowstorm) but rather, Jack reminded him a lot of Kozmotis
Bringing Back Kozmotis
Ultimately, the key to defeating Pitch is the same as it is in the books: Katherine.
Throughout the movie, she proves herself to be very brave. She is the first to jump down the dark tunnel under her bed and she is more than willing to help fight off the Nightmares.
She isn’t sure how she’s supposed to help defeat Pitch, but she promises to try, no matter what it takes.
Once they find Pitch in the heart of the Nightmares’ tunnels, he doesn’t seem to be in any position to attack them. He is nearly completely incapacitated and overwhelmed by the black creatures he created.
The Guardians do their best to fight off the Nightmares, but they keep returning, fueled by Pitch’s own fear. Admist this chaos, Katherine approaches Pitch. Jack, who is still unable to fight, accompanies her, mostly to make sure she doesn’t get hurt.
Katherine, rather than fight Pitch, opts to sit with the panicking ex-Guardian instead. She actually says very little, which surprises Jack.
He sits with them, listening to Katherine talk to Pitch in hushed tones. She assures him that he has nothing to be afraid of. Pitch replies that he certainly does have something to be afraid of, he is literally surrounded by fear.
Katherine replies by simply that he should get back up anyways. No one ever beat Fear just by sitting down. It isn’t until she directly addresses him as Kozmotis, which no one has done since the Dark Ages, that he does finally decide to join the fight.
The end result is one last battle against the Nightmares, much like the end of the first movie, but with a more definitive end thanks to Katherine.
Pitch isn’t able to do much, but with Katherine and Jack assisting, he is able to banish his fair share of Nightmares, which became increasingly easier thanks to his rapidly dissolving fear.
Throughout the fight, Pitch has less of a dark aura. He becomes less pale and his dark robes become something lighter and more refined.
Pitch Black is gone, and once again replaced by the Kozmotis that the original four knew in the past. He is no longer naive, as that is something that can never be retained, but he has certainly changed. Once they get Katherine safely back home, the Guardians and Mother Nature reconvene at the North Pole to discuss Kozmotis’ place among them.
Man in the Moon makes one last appearance to inform Mother Nature that her duty with the Guardians is done, and to tell them exactly where Kozmotis belongs, which is alongside the other Guardians.
Kozmotis is no longer the Guardian of Innocence, as that was lost long ago. But through Katherine’s influence, he has become the Guardian of something else: Courage. He will never be what he once was, but he will have the opportunity to help children as he did hundreds of years ago.
(hey there! you made it to the end! you are a very patient person, i hope you know that. apologies for the long post, but just know that i appreciate you reading this even if you disliked the idea. i hope you have a lovely morning, afternoon, or night you beautiful human being!)
It started with nothing related to Rotg, specifically, right after getting home I reached my students as planned, but, forgetting about the different time zone, I arrived an hour earlier, so I ended up helping them tidying their rooms, cooking, preparing them the towels as they had a shower (???), and then one of them got out and he was North wrapped in a fancy bathrobe and we were in Bunnymund’s den and he kept chatting but then the eggs announced a great danger so he got dressed and then grew hairy boots and a hairy hat right from his feet and head and then I was a fairy like those from Tinkerbell’s tales and, with another fairy like me, I had to bring into the outer space an evil chocolate roll together with some sweet cinnamon rolls which sadly got spoilt by the former and, as we dragged these sweets, the space became a led-lightened tunnel and the Earth a flat room which, when we got back, turned out to be a sort of control room for Toothiana with many emplacements looking like slot machines in which mini Toothianas - and I say mini Toothianas because they were all like a minuscule Toothiana and not like Baby Tooth - kept calmly inserting golden coins for teeth and I realized every machine was dedicated to an Italian region and suddenly I was wearing my Pitch Black cosplay and next to Tsunami-sand wearing her Toothiana’s one and her boyfriend wearing who knows what and we were assigned to this giant slot-looking like machine which was on the floor and much more complex than the others and we had to sort many different coins and insert them in their right and proper slit or the lava downside, which could be seen through them, became angry, and we kept working and then we spotted that machine was dedicated to Molise and we shouted “But Molise doesn’t exist, MOLISN’T, THIS ISN’T POSSIBLE!” and we went on for a few seconds and then I got waken up. And I can assure you this is the Rotg sequel because I knew and felt it all the time as I dreamt.
The book and Movie universe are not one in the same, but I would still like to take inspiration from the book. (Nightlight and Ombric probably wouldn’t exist, and there’s a couple other character background tweaks I’d make too)
It’d start off with Katherine / Mother Goose who narrates the story by starting the “we were all someone before we were chosen” line Tooth said.
Sandman was taken in as a baby by a buddhist monk temple in eastern asia. He was left on their doorstep, they have no idea where he came from, and the monks thought he was a miracle or a gift from their ‘god’. They later nicknamed him “Sha” which meant “Sand” (later to be known as “Sha Ren” (sandman) because they’d often find him sleeping or playing in their sand-zen gardens. Sandman grew to be a peaceful and kind monk who never spoke, he highly encouraged meditation and dreams in everyone. One day, word got out of a distressed child who got stuck in a quicksand pit nearby. Sandy rushed to the scene, and sacrificed himself to save the child. Man in the moon saw his act of bravery, and pulled him out of the sand pit. The moon’s magic fusing with the sand, creating the dream sand. Sandy knew without either of them needing to say any words what he was destined to do. He smiled and nodded, and accepted his fate to become the first guardian.
North is still a cossack, but he abandoned his brethren to protect a town they were attacking. He learned kindness and how to make toys there, ect… he learned his cossack brothers went to the Himalayas to slaughter legendary Yeti beasts, but North felt like he had to stop them.
He saved the Yeti from a massive war, and they were indebted to him.
He also saved a snow goose buried under a thick snowfall who ended up being Katherine. Katherine is actually a goose with the power to turn into a human, (taking a page out of the book of the swan princess) and she’s in charge of writing the stories / lives for spirits, and if she doesn’t continue to write stories for them all at least once, they might cease to exist. North did so much legendary stuff and hung out with spirits, that he was already losing his physical hold on the world, and Man in the Moon granted him magic and guardianship.
Katherine is actually good friends with the Man in the Moon, and he convinced her to write the book of Guardianship that North uses for Jack’s ceremonial oath in the movie.
Bunny escaped from a facility that did mental experiments on rabbits. I think animal cruelty services came in and took Bunny from his family….. Bunny had a heightened sense of intelligence and fell in love with spring when he came out into the world for the first time. He saved a girl who took him in and took care of him, she got lost in the woods during a snow storm, and he helped guide her back home before she froze. Man in the Moon offered him a place in the guardian’s table, and Bunny accepted, and was granted power that allowed him to grow into his pooka rabbit form.
Tooth’s father was human, but her mother was a fairy. She was born in India. When she reached her 18th birthday, her wings had sprouted and feathers started to cover her body. She never saw her mother, but her father showed her what her mother was like through his memories. Through her father, who learned about the magic of teeth and memories from her mother, she learned about their importance and decided to start collecting children’s teeth. Soon she became a legend, the adults no longer being able to see her. She was practically born into the spirit life, and man in the moon gave her power that with each first tooth of a child, she’d be able to replicate herself, but each fairy would have a sentient personality based off the child it came from.
Katherine skips ahead to the dark ages, where the new guardians are all formed, and were standing up to Pitch Black. Katherine later tells them that Pitch used to be Kozmotis Pitchiner, a general born thousands of years ago in Europe. He had a loving wife and daughter, and his people had moon ceremonies, celebrating the light it gave off during the darkness of night. Kozmotis could actually talk to the moon, they were like friends.
Kozmotis was warned by an oracle / witch who came by one night and told him a cursed army is on their way to destroy his town.
The cursed army had attacked without warning, and Kozmotis kissed his daughter and wife goodbye as they fled to safety, and he stayed behind in sacrifice. The curse spread to his men, and soon he was the only pure one left standing, but he refused to give up despite knowing his own inevitable defeat. The cursed men saw his strength, and decided to use him as their leader. they pierced his heart, and sucked into his body, he then became the boogeyman.
He would forever be Man in the Moon’s greatest regret. Mim couldn’t save Kozmotis in time. If he had, Kozmotis would have been a guardian for sure.
Pitch, overwrought with loneliness and the cursed insanity, he roamed the Earth in search for his daughter, who he remembered with the one locket he had with her picture. He couldn’t find her, and as the years went by, people gave him the title ‘boogeyman’ who would snatch your children up and take them away, when really, all Pitch was doing was looking through countless children to find his true daughter. (despite her being long gone by then)
People and children treated him with fear and negativity. He found that fear made him stronger, and soon his anger manifested and he decided to curse the world for turning him into this monster.
at some point in the prequel, I’d like a shot of the guardians rushing by a town in the late dark ages, and when Bunnymund whisked by, its cuts to a young child : Jackson Overland who laughs and points to the bunny and says “Kangaroo!”
Cutting out a main character completely from a series feels awkward. To have an unexpected reference to Jack would be adorable and well-acclaimed by the fans.
~~
I’m happy with Sandy and Pitch’s stories, but North, Tooth, and Bunny could use some work.
Frankly, I don’t even need a prequel.
All I want… all I could ever need…. is a Pitch short. A short that gives us a little insight to Pitch’s past and his “old friendship” with the man in the moon…. just…. if Dreamworks could just finish the ROTG shorts they were working on… I could die happy.
~~
Unrelated, but doing some research on the “golden age” which I found to be a religious term… the wiki offers this interesting piece of text:
“"By extension "Golden Age" denotes a period of primordial peace, harmony, stability, and prosperity. During this age peace and harmony prevailed, people did not have to work to feed themselves, for the earth provided food in abundance. They lived to a very old age with a youthful appearance, eventually dying peacefully, with spirits living on as “guardians” "
Okay, here me out. If you’re like me then you probably didn’t hear about ROTG until you saw fan art shipping Jack Frost and the Ice Queen Elsa from Frozen. I’m not ashamed to say it wasn’t until I saw a post with an uncomfortably attractive animated Jack Frost that I became curious, what is Rise of the Guardians? That’s when I started doing my research, watching movie trailers and clips, learning the differences between the movie and the books, and fell in love with the characters.
When I rented the movie for the first time I was beyond excited. The beginning, middle and end had me squealing like a six year old girl at Disneyland and by the last scene I was in need of all the tissues in our house. I probably watched it ten times that week. It’s message and theme was brilliant and I thought to myself, every kid and adult needs to watch this movie.
But the story left me with questions:
Are there any other spirits besides the guardians? Such as Cupid, the Leprechaun, the Headless Horseman, Mother Nature, etc.
Do Jack Frost and Tooth have romantic feelings for each other? (Dear Lord I hope not, because they do share a couple of cute/awkward moments. Personally, I don’t ship Jack with anyone yet; especially not with Elsa. Call me crazy, but I like the idea of shipping Tooth and Bunnymund xD).
What actually happens to Pitch, and is he the only threat to the Guardians? I mean, come on; there has to be more villain potential out there in the children-legend-world.
How does a spirit become a spirit? I know they presented Jack’s story in the movie (which is quite controversial in the book series), but does a spirit have to die to become a spirit?
Does Sandy, and now Jack, have a head quarters? In the movie North, Tooth, and Bunnymund all have their own unique headquarters. I know we see Jack in an icy setting at one point, but do they have an actual place to go and call home?
What are the Guardian’s background stories, and were they all once human? (It’s fun to image Bunny and Sandy as humans xD)
What happens to Jamie and Sophie? Do they grow older and eventually forget about the Guardian's? Does Jack visit Jamie?
Is Jack seen by more children now?
The list goes on and on and on and I know a lot of these questions can be answered with the books, but honestly, what I want to see more than anything is a new spirit being born. I love to write and even though I’m not great at fan fiction I’ve been dabbling in the idea of a new spirit. I’ve also been pondering on different legends who could be kid friendly villains - if that makes sense.
I just think the movie itself has so much potential for a sequel. I was absolutely shocked when I heard it didn’t do well at the box office, but I think within the last couple of years there has been a new appreciation for the film and story. The way I see it, if How to Train Your Dragon can get a sequel so can the Guardians!
So, to my fellow ROTG fans, let’s try to get a second movie!
- Nightlight may make an appearance, since he was trapped within Pitch and was freed when Pitch returned in the beginning of ROTG
- Katherine may also make an appearance, since she turns Nightlight into a real boy at the end of "The War Of Dreams" and could be a crucial plot element to a second movie
- The Tsar and Tsarina could be shown in a flashback
These are just a few things I'm hoping for, nothing special or confirmed
