Boondock Saints Director Reveals Novel Set In The Modern Day That Will Answer Fan Questions, Reveals Title

The Boondock Saints director Troy Duffy has revealed a novel set in the modern day that will answer fan questions, while also confirming its title. The action thriller has become a cult classic since its release in 2000, the film following the MacManus brothers, Connor (Sean Patrick Flanery) and Murphy (Norman Reedus) as they enact vigilante justice while outrunning FBI Special Agent Paul Smecker (Willem Dafoe). The movie received a sequel in 2009, The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, while a forthcoming Boondock Saints 3 has been confirmed, with Flanery teasing a potential filming window of early 2025.

Speaking with Screen Rant ahead of The Boondock Saints’ theatrical re-release in November for its 25th anniversary, Duffy revealed that he is writing an audiobook set in the modern era featuring the brothers landing in America for the first time. Titled Boondock Saints: Blood Origin, the director teases it’s the first volume in a planned series of books, which will be used to compliment the movie and explain many important details about the brothers. Check out what Duffy had to say below:

I’m writing a book series. So Boondock Saints volume one, is going to be an audio book and it contemplates Connor and Murphy in this day and age. They come over and they land boots on the ground in the United States in Boston while all this s’s going on, while unfairness and injustice is going off the charts in America. Imagine these two Irish boys, brothers that grew up over there with this rosy perception of life in America—the nation on a hill, their land of milk and honey—and they get here to find this.

So [for] any fan that loves these characters that wants a longer, deeper journey where you get to know what the brothers are thinking, you get to know what their differences are as well as their similarities. You get to see them slowly sucked into the shadowy world of vigilantism and know how that all happened.

I’ve been writing it for eight months. I’ll be done here pretty soon, but going into the book of it all makes me feel like I’m just in a gigantic church. I can just go anywhere. Every new thing that hits me, it’s just like this aspect where it’s all tied together.

A lot of fans had those questions, like, “How come they didn’t recognize their father? They got a gunfight with their dad and they all shot each other. How does that happen?” and “Why did he go to jail?” All that backstory is going to feed in. It’s already feeding into all this to make, it’s why I call it Blood Origin. Volume One is called Boondock Saints: Blood Origin. A fan who watched the movie is going to take the book and it’s going to just blow their f***ing heads off, because it also doesn’t offend. It doesn’t offend the movie, but now you watch it and if you watch the movie after reading the book, you go, “Oh my God. There were a million things happening there that I didn’t get, but the book unlocks it all.” That’s what I’m most excited about.

What Duffy’s New Book Series Means For The Boondock Saints

Blood Origin Could Be The Start Of Something Completely New

Despite The Boondock Saints‘ negative reviews from critics, the movie’s popularity with audiences has helped it continue to develop as a franchise over the decades. This is the second time Duffy has spoken about a prequel to the original movie, having confirmed the TV series The Boondock Saints: Origins back in 2013. However, the series was never developed, making this newest book series now being written the closest to an origin story the franchise will get. Although the book taking place in the modern day makes it unclear how it will tie into the movie canon if it’s a prequel.

Given the number of plans to expand the franchise over the years, an audiobook rendition seems like a creative way to add a unique angle to the story. With the trappings of a gangster movie, the original film’s delve into the brothers’ vigilantism could be just the start of how the book approaches how they dish out justice. A book allows for many more perspectives depending on the author’s intent, meaning the final product could be about more than just Connor and Murphy.

Our Take On The Boondock Saints’ Upcoming Book

It’s An Intriguing Way To Develop The Franchise

Although the modern era of the prequel novel makes it unclear how it’s going to tie into the movies, The Boondock Saints getting a book series seems like an intriguing route for the franchise to take. Much like how the spy movie Argylle had a corresponding prequel novel, Blood Origin could involve story elements that become important for the third film installment. Since there’s not much more information about the series yet, it remains to be seen what exciting events will transpire for the MacManus brothers.

After brothers Connor and Murphy kill two Russian mobsters in self-defense, they set out on a vigilante mission to rid Boston of crime and violence. However, an FBI agent is hot on their trail.

Director

Troy Duffy

Release Date

January 22, 1999

Studio(s)

20th Century

Distributor(s)

20th Century

Writers

Troy Duffy

Runtime

108 minutes

Budget

$6 million

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