John Abraham’s Pathaan character warrants a prequel, says Siddharth Anand: 'What if Jim is not dead?'

John Abraham, who was seen as the antagonist in Pathaan, could have his own spy film. Filmmaker Siddharth Anand said John's character Jim deserved a prequel, and also teased the possibility of a crossover with Hrithik Roshan's Kabir from War (2019).

Filmmaker Siddharth Anand has been basking in the box office success of his latest movie Pathaan starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone and John Abraham. The action film is backed by Aditya Chopra's Yash Raj Films (YRF), which has also produced spy films such as War (2019) and Salman Khan's Tiger franchise. In a new interview, Siddharth spoke about the YRF Spy Universe, which boasts of characters like Tiger (Salman Khan), Zoya (Katrina Kaif), Kabir (Hrithik Roshan), Pathaan (Shah Rukh Khan) and Rubai (Deepika Padukone); and teased a prequel on John Abraham’s Pathaan character, Jim.

John Abraham and Shah Rukh Khan in Pathaan.

Siddharth also spoke about how the crossover between Salman's Tiger and Shah Rukh Khan's Pathaan was producer Aditya Chopra’s idea. While Shah Rukh's comeback in a leading role has garnered love from fans, John Abraham’s portrayal of the antagonist in Pathaan, Jim, has also grabbed attention.

When asked if there could be a film with Jim’s back story, Siddharth told Pinkvilla, “It should be, but it’s too early to talk about anything. I feel, Jim’s character does warrant a prequel." The filmmaker also teased that the prequel could explore the bond shared by John's Jim and Hrithik Roshan's Kabir (War) from an earlier time, which was teased in Pathaan. When asked if a spy film with a Hrithik-John crossover was possible, Siddharth said, “Ya, why not, anything can happen. It’s a universe (YRF Spy Universe) and you can do anything with the characters – it’s a playground. You can have a prequel to Jim.. oh wait, what if Jim is not dead? What if there’s a harness that pulls a parachute?”

Pathaan has become the biggest grosser of Hindi cinema with ₹ 634 crore worldwide in seven days, registering the highest ever first week collection for a Hindi film. Pathaan was released on January 25. During a recent media interaction with Pathaan's team, John not only ended reports of tiff with Shah Rukh Khan, he also called Shah Rukh 'the biggest action hero of India'. “I used to think I am an action hero, but today Shah Rukh is the biggest action hero in the country. He is so good at action and I remember I told him that you are the national treasure of the country and I can't hit you. Overall, he was just confident and fantastic with action sequences. Pathaan will be my biggest hit for a long time,” John had said.