Ric Roman Waugh returns to the world of large-scale spectacle with heart in Greenland 2: Migration, expanding the disaster franchise into an emotional, hope-driven continuation of the Garrity family’s story.
In this exclusive conversation with CineMovie, the director reflects on why the sequel was driven by love for the original film rather than franchise ambition, how the pandemic reshaped the way audiences connect to disaster stories, and why themes of family, migration, and the moral gray of survival remain at the core of his filmmaking. Waugh also discusses working closely with Gerard Butler, evolving the story’s next generation, and balancing grounded emotion with high-stakes action.
CineMovie: Congratulations on Greenland 2. So whose idea was it to follow up on this disaster movie? Because I don't think anyone has ever done that before.
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah. We, it wasn't by design. It was really the love of the first movie. I absolutely just flipped over Chris Sparling's script and Jerry and I just came off of Angel has Fallen and we're really wanting to work together again. And I was like, you, this is your guy. I love this John Garrity role and how he represents all of us in this family and where we live in crisis and constant things internally, and then life or death hits us in the face and we kind of forget about all that stuff. 'cause Knowing how precious life is, period, and bringing us together,,all of that was just about doing an inside out version of a disaster film that was truly about a family's journey, and then witnessing the spectral along the way. But it was never about the spectacle first.
Ric Roman Waugh: And we all loved and appreciated that. And then you get into post-production and you're like, wait, what's, what's COVID? And you're suddenly living in a real disaster, a real pandemic. And now you're wondering who's gonna want to see a disaster film in the middle of a disaster? And then how well it was received. It really kind of struck a chord with all of us about how much people loved the story, you know? Of who this family was. And so when it started talking about what would be the next movie, it was a big mandate for all of us. All of us were unanimous that it had to be about hope, it had to be about love, it had to be about the family. And yes, we want to ratchet up to spectacle and make it a big, huge thrill ride because the first movie in many countries, including the United States, wasn't afforded to be theatrical.,'cause There were no theaters. The theaters were shut down. Now you get to come to the theater, grab some popcorn,. and go for a big two-hour ride, and hopefully one that's a tear-jerker as well, where you're just emotionally gripped to the, to this next chapter of the Garrity family.
CineMovie: Yeah. So we're you call him Jerry, we call him Gerard Butler <laugh>. We can call him Jerry, I guess. I mean, he's really the glue, right? That holds the family together, and that's part of the attraction as well, right? Like, he will do anything to take care of his film and have his family.
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah. I think that what's interesting about Jerry and I, and I really appreciate about him, is that he really was also cognizant of wanting Marina Bran and Allison Garrett to be just as much a part of this as well. Right. Right. And if you look at the posters, it's both of them. And that's because Jerry wanted to make sure that she was on, on equal footing. And I think that the movies convey that the second movie has just as much to do with Allison as John and parents coming to terms with mortality and their legacy, and what, how are they when a child has missed half of their life already living underground and it's time to stop surviving but live? Right. The way that we came out of the pandemic. And carry all that forward. So I really appreciate that he was, that he brought that to the game as well.
CineMovie: Yeah. He has his own production company, so he has to be mindful of all this, and the diversity he brings also to his films. I appreciate that with him. It is not all about the big star, he surrounds himself with a great cast.
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah, exactly. It's about always about the ensemble and the people that you are that you're, that you're putting around your movie star. And we've had some great ensembles, you know, people that we love to love to work with and I'm really proud of the people that we put in this Greenland migration, with just the journey of going from the island of Greenland, the continent of Greenland, and then how do you migrate, which is what every species has done the beginning of time to survive. How do you migrate? To a different place of shelter and a place to start living your life, and the journey along the way and who you would meet.
CineMovie: Yeah. It's very timely because I, too, have been thinking about this whole migration, with the whole political talk. Migration has been part of history forever, right? So it felt very timely going from one country to another, trying to survive. So it seems really timely, like you mentioned the first time you were going through a real disaster. And you also explore the human condition, right? Here you meet along the way some good people and some bad people.
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah. I always felt that most of my movies, if not all of 'em, are always about the moral gray of society in different versions of, you know, could you be violent to survive prison? You know what would you do in a life or death situation like this. Would you be selfless or would you be selfish? And then you suddenly watch COVID hit and you see that very thing some people hoarding supplies and looting and taking from others and other people giving everything they could so generously to others. And then everything in between. And we wanted that same type of human condition throughout this as well. Like when it's time to rebuild, would you be selfless or would you be selfish and would you help others and would you not, and would you take from others? And, every shade of gray that goes in between those two lines.
CineMovie: Right. And can you talk about the original young actor Roger Dale Floyd? Why you went with Roman Griffin Davis?
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah. It was about the evolution of the time period. One, we definitely knew that for it to be realistic, if you did this much damage to the earth and the atmosphere, radiation being leaked, you'd need at least five years to really get to a place that you can maybe start to navigate and start to figure out how to survive. Right. So then you talk about, okay, well that means a little boy that was eight is now, you know, 13 or 14,. And then also, okay, then what is that boy going through? Well, he's going through his young adult years now, of who am I? What's my legacy? Where am I gonna be? What am I left with? All these questions we have as young teenagers. So it was really about embracing the chronology first and then next;, what is each character going through? And including Allison. Where's Allison's place? If there's no government, are you now a part of that governing society that's trying to figure out the best way forward?
CineMovie: Yeah. I like that she was put in a position of power, not power, but in a communal setting.
Ric Roman Waugh: No power council, council of power of like, what is the way forward? You know, not her not being a sheep, but being a herder, you know, a leader of like, how do we, how do we move forward?
CineMovie: Now I'm doing some research into you. You were a former stunt performer, so how does that inform you? I mean, 'cause your movies have some great action pieces, so how does that inform you as a director?
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah, it gives me, it gives me the background to understand and the weapons to employ when I need them. But they don't drive what I do. The story is always first for me, the emotional right is always first. And then it just gives me the skill sets and the experience of how to put the tapestry together, and the big experience and the action ride and so forth. But I'm never about just shooting action for the sake of action, or, oh, let me, I can't wait to do this one. Stunt, everything to me is about emotion and character first, and then everything's informed off of that.
CineMovie: Right. You strike a good balance. And lastly, the canyon scene, how did you shoot that scene? There's wind blowing, you're blowing them from side to side, obviously, it was in a controlled environment.
Ric Roman Waugh: Yeah, I mean controlled and uncontrolled. And that was key to that. You're not gonna be able to go into a real canyon that vast and shoot and do it safely. Right. So then you have to build it and then create a virtual environment, but you also want the action and the spectacle to be real. So we built it on stage, and all the ladders were 30, 40 feet off the ground, wearing safety cables and so forth. You felt it. So when people fell, they fell for real. And when Nathan almost falls off, and mom and dad have to grab him, that's the real kid being dangled and mom and dad grabbing him by his arms. And then how do you put the camera up there safely and so forth? So I treated it like it was a real location, a real event, shot it in, in the way that I would've very real place. And then built the virtual world of CG, the great company called Hybrid in Montreal designed it. And then you suddenly, you've got something that feels super real and dangerous because the danger that they're actually doing is real.
CineMovie: So that fear on their faces was real. Thirty feet! That's scary. Even if you have a padded thing waiting for you at the bottom.
Ric Roman Waugh: <Laugh>. Exactly.
CineMovie: All right, well thank you so much. Like I said, we're fans of your films. They have a great balance of emotion, action, and character. So congratulations.
Ric Roman Waugh: Thank you, Lupe. I really appreciate the interview.
CineMovie: Thank you for your time.
GREENLAND: MIGRATION is in movie theaters on January 9.
