Craig Fairbrass has suggested the Rise of the Footsoldier film series could continue beyond an upcoming seventh entry – but only if the right story comes along.
The actor has played Pat Tate across multiple instalments of the franchise, which began in 2007 with Rise of the Footsoldier and has since grown into one of the UK’s most enduring crime film series.
The films are rooted in real events surrounding Tate, Tony Tucker and Craig Rolfe, who were murdered in a Range Rover in Rettendon, Essex, in December 1995, in a case that became widely known as the Essex Boys murders.
However, as the franchise has continued, it has expanded far beyond a straight retelling of those events, using Tate and the wider criminal underworld around him as the basis for further dramatised stories.
Speaking to Radio Times as TV channel LEGEND prepares to broadcast the first five Rise of the Footsoldier films, Fairbrass admitted that nothing is guaranteed when it comes to the franchise’s future.
“Who knows if they make another one? Nobody knows,” he said. “You know what I mean? There’s no guarantees of anything in this life, especially in the entertainment industry, especially films.”
He added: “They’re chucking stories around.
“It all depends on that script that comes through, and you go, ‘This could be incredible’ – or not. Long may it continue.
“There has to be closure for it to end… There has to be closure.”
The upcoming Rise of the Footsoldier: Retribution sees Fairbrass reprise the role once again, with the actor having previously described the new film as the biggest entry in the series yet.
While the real Tate was killed in 1995, the Footsoldier films have increasingly taken a heightened, semi-fictionalised approach to the character and his world, building out prequels, side stories and new conflicts around the established history – an approach that has allowed Fairbrass to return to the role repeatedly, despite the character’s real-life death.
Read more: Craig Fairbrass almost quit Footsoldier films – until new sequel lured him back
“Everything that we’ve done has stemmed from something that happened in their lives,” Fairbrass said. “Then we’ve embellished on that, exaggerated and used theatrical licence to make it more entertaining and feed the fans.”
The first film followed Carlton Leach’s journey through football hooliganism, the rave scene and London’s criminal underworld, culminating in the murders of Tate, Tucker and Rolfe.
Later entries brought Tate further to the forefront, including third film The Pat Tate Story, which charted his life before the events of the original film, and subsequent instalments that continued to mine the character’s past and legacy.
Fairbrass has credited the fanbase with keeping the series alive, calling it “the strongest British crime franchise ever” and pointing to a loyal audience for British gangster films.
“Without the fans, there are no films,” he said.
The Rise of the Footsoldier films are broadcasting on LEGEND (Sky 148, Virgin Media 149, Freeview 41, Freesat 137), beginning Friday 19 June at 10:55pm.
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