The director confirmed that shooting will resume for Kalki 2898 AD sequel this mid-October. He also hinted that it’s aiming for release in 2028.
Director Nag Ashwin spoke to Variety India about when the Prabhas-led sequel will begin filming. He confirmed that the crew have shooting schedules locked in place for its key players and it should now go into production.
This will be a continuation of Kalki 2898 AD which released back in June 2024. The sci-fi featured Prabhas, Amitabh Bachchan, and Kamal Haasan.
Ashwin explained that shooting picked up for individual scenes with Bachchan and Haasan early this year. It then paused as it awaited confirmation from Prabhas before locking in further dates.
“It’s starting from mid-October as we have shooting schedules for all the artists now. We shot a few individual schedules with Kamal sir and Bachchan sir earlier this year,” Ashwin said. “We were waiting on Prabhas’ schedule and that has been cleared now. Hopefully, we should wrap the whole thing up by mid-next year and start post-production. Let’s get the shooting done first and then talk about the release date.”
When pressed about if the sequel will release in 2028, Ashwin agreed with the sentiment.
“Yes, looks like 2028, certainly,” he added.
Ashwin also revealed that there will be no fresh additions to Kalki 2898 AD 2′s main crew. Meaning Prabhas, Bachchan and Haasan will remain its leads going forward.
“The film doesn’t need any new additions. We are carrying forward the story that we left off and there are already a handful of characters,” he said.
Nag went onto explain they are building upon what was established in its predecessor.
“It’s just that we want to expand that world, take small stories and try to collate them together into one big film,” Ashwin continued.
The update arrives after Bachchan and Haasan shot their standalone scenes back in February 2026. Interestingly, it will mark the first time the pair work together since 1985′s Geraftaar.
Kalki 2898 AD saw Prabhas play Bhairava who is led to a post-apocalyptic world in 2998 by Ashwatthama (Bachchan). He, along with Supreme Yaskin (Haasan) leads a rebellion against the tyrannical Sudharma.
The movie was a hit with audiences raking in over ₹1,000 crore globally. It received two awards at the 72nd National Film Awards for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Production Design.
Deepika Padukone was announced to play the role of Sumathi in the original. However, the makers confirmed in September 2025 that she won’t return for the follow-up.
“This is to officially announce that Deepika Padukone will not be part of the upcoming sequel of #Kalki2985AD. After much consideration, we have mutually decided to part ways. Even though we had embarked on this journey right after the first film, we just couldn’t find a partner. A film like Kalki 2985AD deserves that kind of commitment and much more. We wish her all the best for her future endeavours,” a statement from Vyjayanthi Movies read.
Sai Pallavi has been tipped to join the cast, but nothing has been confirmed by the filmmakers.