Suriya confirms Rolex spin-off is still on, wants villain part

Suriya has given fans of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s universe the update they were waiting for: a Rolex standalone is still alive. At the Hyderabad pre-release event for his upcoming Tamil film Scene, the actor said conversations with the director are continuing and made clear how he wants Rolex to return.

Rolex is still on the table

Suriya told the crowd that the project is moving through its processes. He also turned the moment into a public nudge for his director. “We are still talking about the Rolex film… Please ask Loki to call me,” Suriya said, as quoted by The Times of India, before adding, “We will make it happen.”

That is not an official announcement, but it is the clearest sign yet that the spin-off has not been shelved.

Villain, not hero

Then came the more interesting question: would he want to lead the film as a hero or return as the antagonist? Suriya did not hesitate. “Villain is better. Too many heroes have happened. One villain, we’ll do it,” he said.

That preference matters because Rolex was always a calculated burst of menace. The character appeared only in the final stretch of Kamal Haasan’s 2022 action thriller Vikram, playing a ruthless drug lord. The screen time was short, but the impact was loud enough to spark audience demand for a standalone film.

Why a villain-led chapter works

Suriya’s reasoning is more than a fun quote. An antagonist is not bound by the same redemption arc a hero often carries. Keeping Rolex dangerous, cruel and unpredictable could preserve the very qualities that made the cameo memorable. For Lokesh’s universe, that is promising: the film can expand the world without turning its breakout villain into just another lead.

What we know so far

• Suriya and Lokesh Kanagaraj are still discussing the Rolex film.
• Suriya wants to play the villain rather than a conventional hero.
• Rolex first appeared in Vikram (2022), and the cameo created the spin-off demand.
• No official announcement, date or title has been revealed yet.

The creative takeaway

For storytellers, Suriya’s stance is a small case study in franchise thinking. A character who becomes popular because of their danger can lose the plot if a spin-off turns them noble. Keeping Rolex as the villain protects the edge that made the cameo work and gives Lokesh’s universe a different flavour from its hero-led chapters.

Meanwhile, Scene arrives this Diwali

The Rolex update came while Suriya was promoting Scene, directed by Jithu Madhavan. In the film Suriya plays DSP Inbaraj, with Nazriya Nazim as Maya and Naslen as Eshwaran. The project marks Nazriya’s return to Tamil cinema after nearly 12 years and introduces Naslen to Tamil audiences, with music by Sushin Shyam.

For fans, the wait for Rolex now has a direction. Just don’t expect a hero’s entrance.

Source: The Times of India