Xenon

 is an upcoming action-comedy film produced by Ross & Brenda Evans, and Samantha Shertick. It's a sequel to Neon, which was headed by their fathers Brad Evans and Stuart Shertick.

Plot
Set 25 years after the first film, Ashley must teach her apprentice on her ways, before retiring.

Cast
Main article: Neon (1993 film)/Characters

First attempt

 * Main article: Cancelled sequels of Neon (1993 film)

In 2004, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and StudioCanal announced to give up their share of the ownership of the "Neon" franchise to whoever wanted to co-distribute and co-finance a Neon sequel which ended up being released. It was planned to be 20th Century Fox first, then Universal Pictures (owner of the Focus Features label) during the production of Neon 2.0, after that Exclusive Media/Spitfire Pictures during an attempt at a reboot with J.J. Abrams, but finally ended up being Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Revolution Studios, Big Talk Productions and its parent ITV Studios, Good Universe, Ross & Brenda Evans (through Evans Limited) gathered around and planned to start production on the sequel in 2016. They received financing from Wanda Group and signed a distribution deal with Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions and MGM. Due to a partnership with Sony Pictures, Village Roadshow Pictures was announced as a new co-financier.

Sony announced that the sequel was to be set to revive their Destination Films and Triumph Films labels, once meant for niche & low-budget indie films and direct-to-video films respectively. However, in January 2017, Mirum Pictures acquired the management, trademarks and libraries of Destination Films and Triumph Films. Sony Pictures then settled to use its Stage 6 Films banner, with StudioCanal handling distribution in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Spain, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Benelux, and international sales elsewhere. Constantin Film and StudioCanal announced that they were switching to the distribution after the pre-production was finished and the principal photography began a while ago.

As the production done in France, United Kingdom, China and Germany got wrapped, Rabbit Productions II LLC and Xenon Films NV were established. In 2017, Annapurna and MGM formed a distribution agreement and as result, Annapurna became a co-distributor under MGM. In early January 2017, principal photography began in Sydney and Brisbane, Australia, as well as in Pinewood Studios and Village Roadshow Studios. In May 2017, Jamie Shertick and his sister Samantha Shertick announced to co-produce and co-finance the film, now called Neon Zero. In October, Ross & Brenda stepped down as directors and Jake Liam became the successor. The name of the movie was soon changed back to the "unnamed Neon sequel" in November 2017. However, in December, the name was changed to "Xenon", a reference to a material, Xenon, similar when compared to Neon. At around the same time, the co-producers Michigan Picture Company and Evans Limited were merged into DB/Clearwater Productions.

In January 2018, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group announced to give the international distribution rights to Annapurna International, however they will still be producing through Stage 6 Films. The distribution rights were shortly after put on auction by Annapurna/MGM due to not having enough faith in the sequel and due to the Disney-Fox deal at the time, which applied more pressure to the companies. The bidders included Relativity, Aviron Pictures, Lionsgate, Paramount Pictures and Netflix. Warner Bros. Pictures, in partnership of Old Dominion Pictures, were the successful bidders.

In February 2018, Jamie Shertick and his team left the production due to stress and other mental health related issues. However, his sister Samantha is set to stay in the project.

In May 2018, it was announced that international distribution will be handled by Revolution Studios and Universal Studios jointly, and then later Focus Features. The worldwide box office gross after the first week of worldwide release will go to DB/Clearwater Productions and Old Dominion Media.

In June 2018, around the release of the last international trailer, Warner Bros gave their US distribution rights to Focus Features.

Around the same time, there was a previously-undisclosed lawsuit between "The YPA Caffeine Alumni Group (the former investors in Clearwater Partners II LLC) and the ex-producers of Xenon" The plantiffs, in detail, are listed as following: New Line Cinema, American Zoetrope, Reliance Entertainment, Hyper Park Entertainment Group, Mario Kassar, Christopher and Jonathan Nolan, Dwayne Johnson, Neill Blomkamp, Joel Silver, Joel Schumacher, around 180 companies, around 175 other individuals (with their families and estates) and their affiliates, asset management companies, retailers, marketing agencies, pension funds, public float, people in administrative registration and insurance companies<!--Annapurna Pictures (and subsequently Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures), Medusa Film, Filmauro, Pathé, M6, Icon Productions, Troublemaker Studios, Cinema Management Group, The Culture China-Image Nation Abu Dhabi Content Fund, Film4 Productions, Castle Rock Entertainment, Constantin Film (with Senator Film and NFP through Neon Deutschland Filmverleih GmbH), PalmStar Media, Estevez/Sheen Productions, Shanghai Media Group, Ratpac Entertainment, Thunderbird Films, Alcon Entertainment, Wanda Group, ITV plc (with Big Talk Productions and ITV Studios), Wild Bunch, Blind Spot Pictures, StudioCanal, Weying Galaxy, Good Universe and Globalgate Entertainment (their parent company Lionsgate however was not involved), FilmNation Entertainment, Village Roadshow Entertainment, Legendary Entertainment, Providence Equity Partners, The Tornante Company, Decibel Films, Mythology Entertainment, 3 Arts Entertainment, Twisted Pictures, RadicalMedia, Mark Gordon Company, AMBI Group, Bona Film Group, Alibaba Pictures, Revolution Studios, 30West, Chernin Group, Liberty Media, Studio JMS, Global Road Entertainment (formerly IM Global and Open Road Films), Powerhouse Animation Studios, The Walt Disney Company, Austin Film Society, Rooster Teeth Productions, Cloud Imperium Games, Conaco, Fuzzy Door Productions, SpectreVision, Stoopid Monkey, Carousel, Red Hour Films, Material Pictures, Point West Pictures, Sony Pictures, Ingenious Media, Mandalay Entertainment, Working Title Films, Davis Films, Impact Pictures, Intrepid Pictures, Invicta Capital, The Halcyon Company, DNA Films, Point Grey Pictures, Entertainment One, StudioCanal, Studio Babelsberg, Hello Sunshine, Everyman Pictures, Marv Films, Touchy Feely Films, Blossom Films, Ninjas Runnin' Wild Productions, Alex and Ani Jewelry, Hyatt Hotels, aden + anais Baby Products, Le Crueset Cookware, S'well, Mophie, Razer, Girl Skateboards, Alessi, Fully Desks, Baxter of California (men's products), Fader, Cycle Media, Laundry Service (agency), Avance/Hasan & Friends/Ice Capital/Novart Oy, Mission Media, Freuds, IHeartMedia and ZelnickMedia, True Blue Productions, Katalyst Media, Totally Commercial Films, Underdog Productions, El Dorado Pictures, Some Kind of Garden, Pacific Electric, Kinowerks, Also Starring Productions Oy, Pearl Street Films, Google (and Alphabet Inc), Starbreeze Studios, Wynnefield Productions, Overbrook Entertainment, Malpaso Productions, Sikelia Productions, Toonbox Entertainment, RedRover (South Korea), Gulfstream Pictures, Tipitina Inc, Deedle-Dee Productions, 1492 Pictures, Mandeville Films, Mubadala Development Company, Jynwel Capital, Live Nation Entertainment, Kuwait Investment Authority, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Temasek Holdings, Terra Firma Capital Partners, GSO Capital Partners LP, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, A&E Networks, Fortress Investment Group, Huyai Brothers, WME-IMG, Huayi Brothers New Media, Bandai Namco, Skydance Media, SModCast, Screen NSW/Screen Australia, Participant Media, Bank of America, SAP SE, First Look Media, SalesForce, America Movil, Quadrangle Group, Highland Capital Management, Anchorage Capital Group, Third Point Management, Solus Alternative Asset Management, Grupo Carso, Marvel Entertainment, Lucasfilm, AT&T, Verizon, Hearst Corporation, Gannett, Tegna, Tronc, TGP Capital, Leyou (owner of Digital Extremes and Splash Damage), SoftBank, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Microsoft, Tencent, Viacom, Appaloosa Management LP, Brock Capital Group Llc, Harris Associates LP, Canada Development Investment Corp, The Vanguard Group Inc, State Street Global Advisors (US), BlackRock Institutional Trust, Capital Research Global Investors, JP Morgan Asset Management, Berkshire Hathaway Inc, Franklin Advisers Inc, Capital World Investors, Franklin Mutual Advisers Llc, Invesco Advisers Inc, Fidelity Management & Research Co, Anchorage Capital Group, Soros Strategic Partners, Colony Capital,  Killer Content, Huahua Media, Los Angeles Media Fund, Omnilab Media, LStar Capital/Lone Star Funds, Alibaba Group, British Film Institute, APriori Capital Partners, Falcon Investment Advisor, Clarity Partners and its Crescent Entertainment company, Tailwind Capital, Trinity Opportunities, ARD, DR, Arte, Yleisradio, MTV Oy (MTV3), Eurimages, Flower Films, Denver and Delilah Productions, Fiore Group, Lakeshore Entertainment, Rainmaker Entertainment--><!--F. Murray Abraham, Antonio Banderas, Zooey Deschanel, Kirk Douglas, Mark Neveldine & Brain Taylor, Richard Benjamin, Judy Davis, Elisabeth Shue, Jennifer Garner, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Mariel Hemingway, Hazelle Goodman, Eric Bogosian, Demi Moore, Caroline Aaron, Eric Lloyd, Viola Harris, David Zuckerman, Daniel Palladino, David A. Goodman, Chris Sheridan, Danny Smith, Mark Hentemann, Steve Callaghan, Alec Sulkin, Wellesley Wild, Shifra Lerer, Hayden Rolence, Dan Aykroyd, Helen Hunt, Brian Markinson, Wallace Shawn, David Ogden Stiers, Elizabeth Berkley, Peter Gerety, John Schuck, Kaili Vernoff, James Earl Jones, Ginnifer Goodwin, Christopher Daniel Barnes, Zachary Gordon, Neil Patrick Harris, Ellen DeGeneres, David Hasselhoff, Jon Heder, Mike Henry, Roger L. Jackson, Allison Janney, Scarlett Johansson, Albert Brooks, Harry Shearer, Breckin Meyer, Jason Mewes, Alfred Molina, Ming Na, Hayden Panettiere, Freddie Prinze, Jr., Justin Timberlake, Mila Kunis, John Cleese, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Anna Kendrick, T.J. Miller, Bill Hader, Anna Faris, Eric Idle, Stanley Tucci, Julie Kavner, Tom Kenny, Whoopi Goldberg, Kevin Bacon, Alex Borstein, Linda Cardellini, Lacey Chabert, Max Charles, Kristin Chenoweth, Keith David, Vicki Davis, Rosario Dawson, Kristen Wiig, Dave Foley, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marc Webb, Jason Blum, Mark Frost, Zack Snyder, Patton Oswalt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jenny Slate, James Coburn, Patrick Warburton, Kevin Michael Richardson, Billy Crystal, Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta, Bill Murray, John C. Reilly, Sylvester Stallone, Jack McBrayer, Jennifer Tilly, Kristen Wiig, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Nathan Lane, Andy Dick, Rob Paulsen, James Woods, Rose McGowan, Freddy Rodriguez, Billy Crystal, Woody Allen, Eugene Levy, Geoffrey Rush, Macaulay Culkin, Tom Kane, Don Knotts, Maurice LaMarche, Phil LaMarr, Rachael MacFarlane, Heather Graham, Sarah Silverman, Mary Steenburgen, Yeardley Smith, Chris Rock, Ewan McGregor, Jim Cummings, Kristen Schaal, Mindy Sterling, Jon Stewart, David Spade, Frank Welker, Tara Strong, Harland Williams, Corey Burton, Andy Geller, Halle Berry, Rick Moranis, Elizabeth Perkins, Rosie O'Donnell, Kyle MacLachlan, Alan Cumming, Jodi Benson, Mike Myers, Jason Lee, Leslie Mann, Robert Zemeckis, Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, John Pomeroy, Jack Rapke, Steve Starkey, Sam Simon, David Silverman, Jack Rollins, Charles H. Joffe, Paul and Gaëtan Brizzi, Ron Clements, John Musker, Mike Meyers, Elizabeth Avellan, Don Hahn, Mark Mothersbaugh, Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise, Owen Wilson, John A. Davis, Patrick Stewart, Thomas Newman, Harry Gregson-Williams, John Powell, Randy Newman, David Newman, Alan Menken, Graeme Revell, Christopher Lennertz, Alan Silvestri, Danny Elfman, John Ottman, Matthew Broderick, Steve Buscemi, Harvey Keitel, Jeff Goldblum, Edward Norton, Paul Rudd, Brendan Fraser, Jack Black, Kenneth Mars (1935-2011), Jonathan Winters (1925-2013), Elizabeth Taylor (1932-2011), Chris Farley (1964-1997), Dom DeLuise (1933-2009), Robin Williams (1951-2014), Charles Nelson Reilly (1957–2007)--> and Old Dominion Pictures, Clearwater Partners II LLC, Rabbit Productions II LLC, Xenon Films NV & Jamie Shertick Productions. The latter side won the battle, and thus resulted in the former side's involvement reduced to financing, production & marketing support, specific rights and related activities, in Old Dominion and Clearwater's projects.

The release date was announced to be moved from August 10, 2018 to November 17, 2018, that same month. Around the same month, the total budget of the production (including the lawsuit and previous attempts) was revealed to be around USD$450 million, making it one of the highest costing films to be ever made. Jake Liam was revealed to be let go, as Dan Wicker, Jo Keaton and Max Xavier of the Loner Campfire fame were set to continue directing the film.

Second attempt
In August 2018, Xenon Films NV seeked more funding from Asian, Middle Eastern, European, African and Australian countries, due to the film's recent production reboot. Aside from a few previous investors, new financers joined the project: Alfama Films, Kinology, Tornasol Films, Beta Cinema, Lucky Red Productions, Copenhagen Film Fund, Kisi Production, Potemkino, Film House Germany, Technicolor and Entre Chien et Loup from Europe, Quizzical Pictures from South Africa, Beijing Enlight Pictures and China Film Group from China and Kennedy Miller Mitchell from Australia. Imagine Entertainment, Amazon Studios, Prospero Pictures, Ancine, Globo Filmes, Downtown Filmes and Cross Creek Pictures also provide significant funding in the project.

There was also Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, Polish Film Institute, Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Dutch Film Fund, Filmstiftung NRW, Icelandic Film Centre, Nordic Film og TV Fond, Film Fund Luxembourg, Vlaams Audiovisueel Fonds, Wallimage, Danish Film Institute, Swedish Film Institute, Catalan Finance Institute and Catalan Film & TV; and a consortium going under the name European Art Fund Pool NX; contributing to the first funding round.

Mikros Image, Technicolor, Mr X, Method Studios, Encore, BUF Compagnie, Company 3, Mac Guff, EFILM, Beast, Stereo D, Rexomodo Creative Industries, VoltageFX, Troll VFX, Base FX, Ghost VFX A/S, Lola Visual Effects, Ulysses Filmproduktion, Crafty Apes, RISE Visual Effects Studios, Digital Domain, Black Ginger VFX and The Mill are working on the visual effects and related activity for the film. Piste Rogue will help out in audio post-production as well.

Executive producer Jamie Shertick commented on the status of the film at Cannes Film Festival, "So far it's been in development hell once, then in production hell and back. Now we are starting over and I'm still in." They're re-shooting a few scenes at first, as part of a "troubleshooting" phase and then restart principal photography in Spain, Belgium, Australia, China, Canada and South Africa. For the second iteration of the production, Neon DCP ULC was founded with two offices in Quebec City and Toronto, Canada, with the funding from Ontario Film & Television Tax Credit, SODEC and Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit.

There are ongoing negotiations of Focus Features giving out distribution rights to Lionsgate. Amazon Studios and STX Entertainment were other early candidates, but announced in early September 2018 to drop out.

Jamie Shertick Productions is set out to acquire Xenon Films N.V., Rabbit Productions II LLC and the Neon/Xenon IP after the film's release, making the Neon/Xenon IP the only one to be owned by Jamie Shertick Productions after 2018.

Marketing
On October 7, 2017, the first clip of the movie was released as a teaser trailer. Back then, the film was renamed Neon Zero. The reception was positive and was initially mistaken for a prequel, but was corrected by Ross Evans later on.