After being in talks for seven years, the sequel to Ben Affleck’s often-overlooked action thriller has finally got greenlit. Debuting in 2016, when Affleck was still associated with the DCEU, The Accountant witnessed a respectable box-office total of $155M. But despite its success, the proceedings on the then-announced sequel were left hanging for over half a decade.
But finally, with Affleck’s last collaboration with Amazon, Air, becoming a success for the studio, which currently stands at a raving 93%, Amazon has now acquired the rights for The Accountant 2.
Amazon Will Look over the Production of Ben Affleck’s The Accountant 2
Starring Jon Bernthal and Ben Affleck, The Accountant saw the BVS Star playing a numbers guy with autism, who serves as an accountant for some of the world’s biggest criminals. After being stuck in pre-production for a while, the production on the sequel is finally set to roll in this year, with Amazon MGM Studios set to distribute the sequel, continuing their flourishing bond with Affleck.
Per reports, the sequel will kickstart filming in California, making The Accountant 2 one of the 15 films that will see their productions taking place in California in 2024. And with the original director returning, fans can expect to see more of Bernthal in the sequel, compared to the first one, following Gavin O’Connor’s previous comments.
The Accountant 2 Might Feature More of Jon Bernthal
Unlike the first one, which saw Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff taking the spotlight, with his brother, Brax, played by Jon Bernthal, taking the supporting gig, the sequel might involve more of Bernthal. Speaking of his plans for the sequel, O’Connor expressed that he wanted to integrate Bernthal’s Brax more into the story with the sequel. And for the third one, O’Connor shared that it’d be a buddy picture, which has become a rarity in modern Hollywood. He told CinemaBlend:
“We literally just closed that deal. We’re doing The Accountant again…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 [Jon] 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 the two brothers, this odd couple. The third one is going be a buddy picture.”
It’ll be interesting to see if O’Connor’s plans for a sequel would follow his initial ideas, as with a new studio onboard, it’s quite possible that the Ben Affleck-led movie might receive a makeover.
The Accountant is available to stream on Peacock.
