The Departed is definitely earning a spot as one of the bigger films of 2006, with nominations rolling in from most of the major award contenders. We’ll see of Oscar will glance at Martin Scorsese again in less than a week (a win would be nice this time around). For now though, the film appears to be headed in the same direction as most modern Hollywood success stories: sequel city.

The original film Internal Affairs that Departed was followed up by two sequels, so a sequel for The Departed would not be unheard of. Moviehole is reporting that the potential sequel might reunite Scorsese with his former “golden child,” Robert De Niro, who he seems to have left more recently for Leonardo DiCaprio, who stars in The Departed.

Not only is there talk of a sequel, but Scorsese is also hinting that he might make a prequel so that he could bring back “all of the guys” according to Departed co-star Mark Wahlberg. Can you imagine: De Niro, DiCaprio, Wahlberg, Matt Damon, and Martin Sheen in one picture together?

With the money and awards The Departed has garnered, I can’t imagine Scorsese would have problems finding studio support if he wants to follow up the picture with more. The only question is whether Scorsese really intends to head in that direction or not. If The Departed finally gets him that golden statue, he may decide to stick with those characters for a little longer.