Parker Finn told Bloody Disgusting that he did consider (albeit very briefly) making Joel the lead. "I love Kyle Gallner," Finn emphasizes. "I love working with him. He's become an incredibly good friend. We chat all the time, and of course, there was a consideration about, 'Oh, could the next film follow Joel?' But when I was approaching the sequel, I wanted to make sure that anything that could have been a traditional or obvious continuation, I wanted to just cross that off the list. I didn't want to do the expected thing; I didn't want to take the easy route. I wanted to challenge myself to craft something that felt fresh and new, and that also had a new emotional thematic way in. I needed to find a character who felt like the right spine to hang the story on, which is how I developed the character of Skye Riley. "But where the first movie ended, I wanted to make sure that there was the right amount of connective tissue between the two, and how do you get from a New York police detective to a New York City mega pop star? It felt really fun. Of course, because I like working with Kyle, I wanted to create this opportunity for this incredible bravura opening scene and give him the chance to really flex his acting chops. I think Kyle is such an incredible performer; it's just the opening scene, but he did a lot of work to bring that to life, and I'm so proud of him."
