Ryan Gosling's Driver may take to the road again

Director Nicolas Winding Refn won't do a sequel to Drive, but is exploring possible new spin-offs for the character of the Driver

Nicolas Winding Refn has both put the brakes on Ryan Gosling's enigmatic wheel-man from last year's Drive returning to the big screen, while simultaneously fuelling speculation he's already drawn up a new road map.

"That is never going to happen," said Winding Refn, when asked by the Evening Standard about the possibility of a Drive sequel. "But the character of the Driver might return in another film. We're playing with that idea. We'll see what happens."

James Sallis, who wrote the novella on which the original film was based, has already published a sequel, Driven, which takes place seven years later. But Refn's comments suggest he might be unhappy with the direction Sallis's book takes the Driver – and his girlfriend – in.

Winding Refn and Gosling have two further collaborations in the pipeline, Only God Forgives, rumoured to premiere next month at the Rome film festival, and sci-fi remake Logan's Run. Gosling will shortly shoot his directorial debut, How to Catch a Monster, featuring Drive co-star Christina Hendricks.