‘Mortal Instruments 2′ Rises From the (City of) Ashes, Production Starts in 2014

The fate of the potential 'Mortal Instruments 2,' to be adapted from the second installment of Cassandra Clare's young-adult books, 'City of Ashes,' was up in the air after the faltering box office numbers of the first film. But even though Constantin Films had shut down production on the sequel for the time being, fans have nothing to fear, as it looks like it is back on track. But why the change of heart?

After the Lily Collins-led 'Mortal Instruments: City of Bones' opened to $14 million over the course of the five-day weekend -- on a $60 million budget -- the studio was having second thoughts about moving forward on the sequel, which had already begun production. However, fan outreach has convinced them to keep truckin' along, and now 'City of Ashes' is going back into production next year.

"The fan response, from the blogosphere and the thousands of mails we have received, has encouraged us to keep going," Constantin Film's head of film and TV Martin Moszkowicz told THR. "It's been overwhelmingly positive, in contrast to some other YA titles.”

Moszkowicz went on to reveal he thinks the first one didn't perform adequately because the marketing campaign was too heavily focused on the teen audience -- in all honesty, the film basically looked like 'Twilight' but with demons -- leaving out the surprising amount of 20-30-year-olds reading Clare's books. Perhaps merely the presence of new cast member Sigourney Weaver will do the trick on her own.

In addition to 'The Mortal Instruments 2,' Constantin is also working on a prequel to the main series, adapted from Clare's Victorian England-set spinoff novels, 'Infernal Devices,' with a new female teen lead and a few familiar faces. But if 'City of Ashes' travels the same route as the first film, perhaps this will won't see the light of day.