Are you ready for some rather unexpected sequel news? Because we’ve got some for you. It looks likeBen Affleckis about to have another franchise under his belt to go along withBatman, but there is significantly less pressure on this one. It looks like Warner Bros., in a very unexpected movie, is working onThe Accountant 2, a movie that wasn’t particularly well-liked by critics and didn’t exactly crush at the box office.
According toDeadline,The Accountant 2is going to happen and it looks like the entire creative team is going to return. Not only is Ben Affleck going to return to headline the movie, butdirector Gavin O’Connor(Warrior) and writer Bill Dubuque are also in talks to return for the sequel. Producers Lynette Howell Taylor and Mark Williams are also reportedly on board. According to Deadline,Daredevilstar Jon Bernthal is also expected to return for the sequel, who became a very important part of the first movie in the final act.
The Accountantcentered on a character, played by Ben Affleck, who is amathematical geniuswho has a high-functioning autism. When he’s not helping out some small town folks with their accounting issues, he is cooking the books for some of the world’s most deadly and feared criminals. After taking on a job for a tech company that goes south, he has to put his skills as an assassin to good use as well, in order to protect a girl he just met (played by Anna Kendrick) from getting killed. He winds up stacking up a whole lot of bodies in the process.
Warner Bros. absolutely loves Ben Affleck. Even though his latest directorial effortLive By Night was a huge flop. He got them a Best Picture Oscar withArgoand, as mentioned previously, is currently playing the Caped Crusader in the DCEU. So on one hand, it isn’t all that surprising that the studio would want to center an action/thriller franchise around Affleck if they can. But the numbers, at least at first glance, simply don’t seem to justify a sequel toThe Accountant.
With anA-list castand a pretty hefty marketing campaign,The Accountantmanaged to bring in $155.1 million worldwide against a $44 million budget. That isn’t exactly aJohn Wicksituation, which was much cheaper to make. However, it looks like the movie probably cleared some money at the box office and, if more people are finding it and enjoying it on Blu-ray/streaming, there could be more interest in a sequel. Many critics probably aren’t going to be thrilled, as the movie currently holds a 52 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but Warner Bros. has learned that you can make good money with or without critics.
In terms of whenThe Accountant 2could come out? That seems a bit unsure right now. Deadline didn’t give a timetable for release and things sound like they are in the early stages. Not only that, but Gavin O’Connor is working on a reboot ofGreen Hornetand Ben Affleck will be tied up makingThe Batmanfor a bit. Maybe that will give the studio time to get things together and will give Affleck something to do before hopping back in the Batsuit.
