Thalapathy Vijay’s new venture The Greatest of All Times (GOAT), released today in the theatres. The film marks the end of Vijay’s career in film industry and his shift into politics. Supposedly, it is the second last film of Vijay before his retirement. This news is an upsetting one for the Vijay fans, but it is further saddening for Lokesh Kanagaraj.
Lokesh directed movies that focus on South Indian vigilantes that bust drug cartels in India have been considered as Lokesh Cinematic Universe or Lokiverse. The franchise has been the highest grossing franchise in Tamil cinema. As of now, three films of the franchise have been released, their names being: Kaithi, Vikram and Leo. The last movie of the franchise was the last film appearance of Vijay before GOAT. He played the lead role of Leo Das aka Parthibhan in the movie. The entry of Vijay in the LCU means there are chances of him appearing in future projects as well.
Lokesh, as of now has revealed about the production of several future films of the franchise. Among them is the talks about Leo 2. The film again will be centred around the character of Leo Das i.e., Vijay. He is supposed to play the lead role in the movie. Lokesh has also announced the sequel for Vikram, and considering the ending of Leo, Vijay’s character is supposed to join the gang of vigilantes formed by Vikram (Kamal Hassan). So, we can expect Vijay to be in the films. Many fan-theories suggest the character’s return in the Rolex spin off film as well.
With so many things planned for Vijay’s character, it will be saddening for Lokesh to hear about the retirement of Vijay. Without Leo, the linearity of the franchise will be affected. Without Vijay as Leo, the character will lose the impact that he has on the audience.