Get ready for some more action/comedy hijinks, asThe Hitman’s Bodyguard 2is happening. The reveal was made at the Cannes Film Festival, which begins this week and runs through May 19 in France. Posters for the sequel have been spotted around the festival location. While they don’t reveal much, the title on the poster isThe Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. Beyond that, There aren’t really many other details about the movie available currently, but it’s coming our way and, with posters already up at a major event, it’s likely the studio isn’t just sitting on their hands when it comes to this one.
It’s expected that bothSamuel L. JacksonandRyan Reynoldswill be reprising their roles for the sequel. As of right now, there is no release date reported, but it seems like Lionsgate and Summit aren’t going to wait around. It’s also expected that director Patrick Hughes will be back at the helm forThe Hitman’s Bodyguard 2, after helming the first installment to great success. While no script or full synopsis for the movie is yet available, the movie is described as “The Good. The Bad. And the Bats*** cray” at Cannes. Tom O’Conner, who wrote the first movie, is currently working on the script for the follow-up.
While plot details are thin, the title gives us apretty decent idea of what might generally be taking placeinThe Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. If we assume that Salma Hayek reprises her role as Samuel L. Jackson’s wife in the sequel, it sounds like Ryan Reynolds will find himself in a situation where he is going to have to protect her from some as-of-yet unrevealed threat. The first movie centered onReynolds protecting Jackson’s character from assassination, with Gary Oldman playing the main villain. Spoilers but, since Oldman’s character died at the end of the first movie, he won’t be able to return and they’re going to have to find themselves a new villain.
There is no current word on when production might get underway, but if the script comes in quickly, we may not be waiting all that long for this one. Ryan Reynolds has several other projects in the works, but the only other ones that seem immediately pressing areDetective PikachuandThe Croods 2, which both just require voicework, for the most part.X-Forcelooks like it’s going to happen followingDeadpool 2, but there is no firm release date for that project yet. Assuming Samuel L. Jackson can find time in his schedule as well, it’s not totally impossible to imagine a late 2019 or early 2020 release date for the sequel.
Once Samuel L. Jackson is done filming theShaftsequel andCaptain Marvel, it looks like he should be free and clear.The Hitman’s Bodyguard, thoughnot necessarily embraced by the majority of critics, was very successful with moviegoers. The movie grossed $176.5 million worldwide last year, working from a budget of just $30 million. Much of that had to do with the August release, which made for a lack of direct competition. This news comes to us courtesy ofThe Hollywood Reporter.
