The Accountant is reportedly getting a sequel, with Ben Affleck reprising his role as the mathematical savant-turned-fugitive. The 2016 action thriller was directed by Gavin O'Connor and also starred Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and John Lithgow. The plot followed the story of Christian Wolff (Affleck), a certified public accountant with autism who works on the accounts of international terrorist groups that are experiencing internal embezzlement. While working on a legitimate client, Wolff unravels something from his past.
While it received mixed reviews during its release, The Accountant was a box office success and grossed $155 million worldwide. The movie was praised for its thrilling fight scenes and Affleck's commitment to the role. At the time, there were talks of making the story into a film franchise, and later the possibility of creating the sequel as a TV series. However, plans seemed to have been scrapped as no significant updates on the film's future were given over the next five years.
Now, O'Connor has announced on CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast that The Accountant 2 is indeed happening, and that Affleck is confirmed to have signed up to reprise his role. According to the director, he "literally just closed the deal." O'Connor also shared that the sequel's plot will focus on Jon Bernthal's character, who was revealed in the film to be Affleck's long-lost brother. What's more, the filmmaker also hinted at a third movie, which will be a "buddy picture" between Affleck and Bernthal. Read O'Connor's comments below:
"So, I've always wanted to do three because what, the second one's going to be more with -- we're going to integrate his brother into the story. So there'll be more screen time for Bernthal in the second one. And then the third movie’s going to be, I call it, ‘Rain Man on steroids.’ The third movie is going to be [about] the two brothers, this odd couple. The third one is going to be a buddy picture."
The downside to getting the green light for The Accountant 2 is that O'Connor will not be able to do a sequel for another Affleck-led film, The Way Back. The 2020 sports drama reunited the Oscar-winner and the Accountant director, producing a compelling film about redemption. While it earned praise from critics, the film performed poorly at the box office, largely due to its release during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to O'Connor, a sequel to The Way Back will not push through as he will instead be focusing on The Accountant 2.
While news of The Accountant part two is truly exciting for fans of the movie, it is unclear when the sequel will hit the big screen. Given the pandemic-related delays that all film productions are experiencing, it may be a while before the project becomes a reality. One viable option is to release the sequel and the possible third installment on a streaming platform to give it a better chance at reaching a wider audience, as many other studios have chosen to do during the COVID-19 era. Given the public's interest in hard-hitting action sagas such as Liam Neeson's Taken and Keanu Reeves' John Wick, The Accountant 2 has a good chance at becoming another hit. As Affleck is rumored to don his Batman cape in The Flash, the award-winning actor will hopefully find better success at playing a flawed action hero this time around.
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