I kind of doubt that, apparently Dino DeLaurentiis, who produced the original Death Wish, didn't think a sequel would suffice. Plus, Brian Garfield was sort of mixed about how Death Wish sort of turned out, and held on to the copyrights of Death Sentence. But subsequently, by the time they were doing production for Death Wish 4, Cannon invited Garfield to write up a script, which got rejected but later became the working script for Death Sentence.
I kind of doubt that, apparently Dino DeLaurentiis, who produced the original Death Wish, didn't think a sequel would suffice.
The article is from 1981, when Cannon already took the sequel rights.
Plus, Brian Garfield was sort of mixed about how Death Wish sort of turned out, and held on to the copyrights of Death Sentence.
So maybe they planned it without his permission. Or he thought they would do the novel justice until he found out they wanted a sequel to the DEATH WISH movie, what with Bronson coming back.
But subsequently, by the time they were doing production for Death Wish 4, Cannon invited Garfield to write up a script, which got rejected but later became the working script for Death Sentence.