See Oliver Stone’s ‘Savages’ On September 28th & Then Go To The Bookstore And Read The Prequel ‘The Kings Of Cool’

Yes, Oliver Stone's forthcoming thriller "Savages" is one of our most anticipated movies of the year, and it looks like there is going to be even more story to devour come September. 

Publishers Simon & Schuster announced today that they plan to release author Don Winslow's prequel "The Kings Of Cool" right around when "Savages" will land in theaters. Smart play. Winslow has been very involved in the adaptation of his best selling book, teaming with Stone and writer Shane Salerno on the screenplay. A starry cast has been assembled to tell the story of Ben and Chon, a pair of Laguna Beach drug dealers forced to work for a Mexican cartel after the girl they share, O, is kidnapped. Aaron Johnson and Taylor Kitsch lead the cast with Blake Lively as the girl, Uma Thurman as her mother, Salma Hayek as the leader of the cartel, Benicio Del Toro as her main enforcer, John Travolta as a burnt-out DEA agent, Demian Bichir as a double-crossing attorney who represents Hayek’s cartel, Joel David Moore as a computer nerd and Emile Hirsch in an unnamed role. So yeah, sounds pretty damn sweet, right?

But it seems the prequel will leave wiggle room for much of the cast to return if the movie is a hit and audiences want more. "The Kings Of Cool" will be set in the 1960s but will span five decades, showing how Ben, Chon and O's tale and dirty deeds tie in with the legacy of their own parents' history. So it seems it's part prequel, but still keeps a foot planted in the present, with a story that seems to open up character ties and threads.

We're curious if the cast has options for a sequel (seems to be a standard clause these days) but "Savages" is certainly the most mainstream effort Stone has put forth in years (and yes, that includes the ill advised "Wall Street" sequel), so we're expecting big things. "Savages" opens on September 28th. [Deadline]