2024’s Road House, Amazon MGM Studios’ remake of the 80s Patrick Swayze action classic, quickly became one of the studio’s most successful releases, accruing nearly 80 million viewers worldwide. With Jake Gyllenhaal stepping into the Swayze role, the film earned mixed reviews but drew in enough viewers that a sequel was probably inevitable.
While it was viewed as a success by Amazon, it also faced its fair share of controversy, with director Doug Liman criticizing the studio for bypassing a traditional theatrical release and a copyright infringement suit from the screenwriter of the ’80s original, R. Lance Hill. Despite the backlash, fans of the first film’s action will soon have a chance to return to the bar, with a sequel officially in the works. Here’s everything we know about Road House 2 so far.
Who’s Involved in ‘Road House 2’?
Amazon MGM Studios
The sequel was originally announced back in May of 2024, and over a year later, the creative team for Road House 2 is coming into focus. Perhaps not surprisingly, Liman will not be returning as director after his public criticisms. Instead, Guy Ritchie has stepped into his place. Ritchie’s certainly no stranger to action, though his more recent output has shifted towards big-budget adventure projects like 2019’s Aladdin and the recent Fountain of Youth.
The screenwriter will also be different from the first film, with Will Beall stepping in for Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry. Beall is emerging as something of a legacy sequel expert, scripting 2024’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Both of those films were viewed as surprisingly sentimental, so his hiring for Road House 2 might hint at a more emotionally-driven story amidst the punchings and stabbings.
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Also confirmed is Jake Gyllenhaal, who will be reprising his role as ex-UFC fighter Elwood Dalton. Gyllenhaal is also producing the sequel through his company Nine Stories Productions, alongside Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, and executive producer Ivan Atkinson. It’s not yet known if actual UFC fighter Conor McGregor, who made his acting debut as a flamboyant gang enforcer, will return for the sequel, though sources say he’s open to it.
What Will ‘Road House 2’ Be About?
Prime Video
Amazon MGM has so far kept mum about the plot of Road House 2. The first film saw Gyllenhaal’s Dalton leaving the Florida Keys town of Glass Key after the bloody mayhem that caused major damage to the titular Road House, leaving his new friends Charlie (Hannah Lanier) and her dad Stephen (Kevin Carroll) a big bag of ill-gotten cash to rebuild their bookstore. Perhaps Dalton will return to Glass Key in the sequel, or take his hand-to-hand skills to a different community that needs his help to fend off some bad guys.
Last year, Gyllenhaal said in an interview that the sequel would be “expansive” and “bigger,” so the story could very well follow suit, particularly in contrast to the relatively small-scale gritty violence of the first film. Road House is the kind of movie that benefits from a simple approach, focusing less on story and more on bone-crunching action, so hopefully the sequel won’t overcomplicate the first film’s greatest pleasures.
When Will ‘Road House 2’ Be Released?
Amazon MGM Studios
Unfortunately, much like its plot, an official release date for Road House 2 has not been announced. Ritchie was announced as director in April, and Gyllenhaal revealed in an interview on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in March that he was terrified about getting back into shape for the sequel. All this would imply that the film is still relatively early in production, with its star working to get sufficiently ripped for the role, so it’s pretty likely the film won’t see release until sometime in 2026.
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As for where it will be released, it seems there are some questions about that as well. Liman publicly took Amazon to task for canceling a planned theatrical release for the first film before their acquisition of MGM, changing course and premiering the film on streaming, but Puck’s Matthew Belloni reported rumblings that the sequel might go theatrical. It’s probably inevitable the film will end up on Prime Video eventually, though it remains to be seen how Amazon would handle a theatrical release, if they do indeed go that route.
While not much is known about Road House 2 as of yet, the film’s new director and screenwriter, along with Gyllenhaal’s comments from last year, seem to signal that Amazon MGM might be looking to go in a slightly different direction for their highly anticipated release. Whatever happens, they just have to clear the bar set by the 2006 direct-to-video sequel to the original starring Jonathon Schaech, which shouldn’t be too hard.
3.5
/5
Release Date
March 21, 2024
Runtime
121 Minutes
Writers
Anthony Bagarozzi, Charles Mondry, David Lee Henry
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