Steve Vai is set to return for the sequel to the cult 1986 movie Crossroads, according to the film’s original star and screenwriter. The supernatural spin on the life of blues legend Robert Johnson was written by John Fusco and starred Ralph Macchio. The two have been discussing ways to continue the story ever since the film’s release.
“Ralph and I, we call, and he’s like, ‘Man, you know we should do some kind of anniversary thing,’” Fusco told Guitar World. “I said, ‘We should do the freaking sequel.’ He’s like, ‘No shit, really? Do you have an idea?’ So Ralph and I have talked about it. We’ve got a plan.”
Fusco wouldn’t reveal much about the project, beyond promising that Crossroads II would be “exciting to music fans, to blues purists.” Macchio, who played guitar prodigy Eugene Martone opposite Vai’s Jack Butler, a guitarist in the service of Satan, offered a few more clues.
“It would be years and years later, less about Eugene and more about someone relevant today,” he said. “I can’t go into a deep dive on that stuff, but I haven’t given up on it.”
Vai, meanwhile, made clear that he knows where his character stands.
“I know Ralph wants to kick my ass. Jack Butler needs his revenge!”
Although Crossroads flopped at the box office, the story of Eugene’s encounter with bluesman Willie Brown and their subsequent battle for their souls found a much larger audience on home video. Most of the film’s music was arranged by Ry Cooder, but Vai composed key passages for the climactic guitar duel, including Eugene’s Trick Bag, which Eugene performs to defeat Butler and the Devil.
In 1997, Vai revisited the performance with fellow Zappa alumnus Mike Keneally, demonstrating that he still had an affection for a performance that would become a formative moment for generations of guitarists.
One of them was Nita Strauss, who recalled the film’s impact in an interview with Guitar Player.
“When I was 13 I saw Steve Vai in Crossroads. He was so cool and charismatic. At the time I had a guitar, but I hadn’t fallen in love with it yet. I remember watching Steve Vai and thinking, ‘Why didn’t anybody tell me that you could do that with a guitar? That is so cool!’”
