'The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes' Restarts Production Plans After Delay

Plans are back on for a film adaptation of the second book in Cassandra Clare's "Mortal Instruments" series, "The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes."

After the first film, "The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones," was a flop upon its release in August, production on the sequel was delayed indefinitely by Constantin Film. The first film, which reportedly had a production budget of $60 million, brought in just $31.16 million at the domestic box office.

“Constantin Film has a long tradition of adapting books to the big screen. Pushing back the start of production of 'City of Ashes' was a decision we did not take lightly. But after speaking with all of our partners on the creative and distribution side, it was clear that it will be beneficial to have more time to reposition the film in the current market place," executive producer Martin Moszkowicz said in a release at the time of the announcement. "'The Mortal Instruments' series has an incredibly loyal and ardent fan base and is a bestselling book series. While taking Cassandra Clare's vision to the screen, we want to make sure to draw on the full potential of the franchise."

News broke on Wednesday that the company plans to begin work on "The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes" in 2014. THR reports that the series' loyal fan base has motivated a commitment to the franchise going forward.

"We are analyzing what we did wrong with the first film -- particularly with the positioning and marketing -- and what changes we have to make," Moszkowicz told THR. "We are working with a great group of people to reposition the franchise [for City of Ashes]."

"The Mortal Instruments: City of Ashes" is the second book in a six-part series from Clare. The final book, "The Mortal Instruments: City of Heavenly Fire," is scheduled for a May 2014 release.

[via THR]