Warning: MAJOR spoilers ahead for The Accountant, read ahead at your own risk!
This weekend proved that Ben Affleck definitely doesn't need a cape and cowl to be a total badass on the silver screen. All he needs is a gun, a coffee thermos, and some Expo markers. Gavin O'Connor's The Accountant handily won the weekend box office, and served as a phenomenal tale of a truly unorthodox action hero. In the process, we saw Christian Wolff become one of the most unique and intriguing action movie heroes in recent memory.
With that in mind, we think that there's definitely more story to tell. The final moments of The Accountant saw Christian Wolff drive off into the sunset to take part in untold new missions, and the opportunities for an Accountant sequel now seem endless. We've put together a list of reasons why we need to see a follow-up to The Accountant. Check out our arguments and let us know what you think in the comments section below. Now let's get started with Gavin O'Connor's recent comments about a potential sequel...
The Director Already Has An Idea
The Accountant features a pretty open ending, suggesting that Christian Wolff can now go on any number of adventures around the world to cook books and generally lay a serious beat down on some well-deserving criminals. There's ample opportunity for a sequel here, and director Gavin O'Connor already realizes this. During a recent interview to promote the release of The Accountant, O'Connor laid out his vision for a second film, and it revolves around Christian using his lethal abilities to break up a human trafficking ring selling children into sex slavery. Not only does this idea up the stakes for Mr. Wolff in a major way, but it also feels narratively and thematically relevant to everything that has preceded it. If that's the story, then we're completely on board.
People Are Still Chasing Christian Wolff
There's a particularly notable moment during the farmhouse attack scene that instantly makes it obvious that a sequel to The Accountant is feasible. When Wolff finally beats one of Braxton's thugs, he puts the henchman in a chokehold and starts naming off possible parties who could've hired the assassin to come after him. This makes one thing perfectly clear: people are still chasing Christian. There are forces from his past -- completely separate from the events of this film -- that would like to see him dead, and they will eventually catch up with him. Any number of these mysterious organizations could come after him in a potential sequel, and it would feel perfectly grounded within the reality of this universe.
Christian's Origins Merit Further Exploration
Although The Accountant most certainly delves into the origins of its mysterious protagonist, there's still plenty of Christian's childhood and early adult years left unexplored. The film features a few awesome scenes of him training to fight as a child, but that really only represents the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his talents as a stone cold killer. We know from the film that he moved numerous times during his childhood, and we most certainly want to see how those globetrotting formative years fundamentally changed him into the man he would eventually become. If Gavin O'Connor really wants to tell a story about Christian saving children in the sequel, then a heavy emphasis on the hero's own childhood would represent a nice thematic tie-in.
His Relationship With Braxton Deserves More Attention
If you saw The Accountant, then you already know that it's a film completely full of twists and turns. However, arguably none of those twists felt quite as satisfying as the reveal that lethal assassin Braxton (Jon Bernthal) was actually the long-lost brother of Christian Wolff. The final moments of the film center on a visceral battle between the two, that eventually culminates in a heart wrenching reconciliation and a promise of renewed friendship. With the rift between these two brothers starting to mend, a future Accountant movie could follow them as they continue to try and reestablish their lost relationship, and maybe even work together in the field. Bernthal and Affleck had great chemistry in their short time on screen together, and we want to see that relationship fleshed out even more in the future.
We Need More R-Rated Franchises
The Accountant joins the ranks of movies like John Wick and Deadpool in the sense that it's a tightly orchestrated, well-made, R-rated thriller that leans headfirst into its MPAA rating. That's most certainly a rarity these days. While there's certainly a place for more sanitized PG-13 action thrillers at the box office, a large portion of the adult audience wants to see something that hits a little harder. In a film environment where violence rarely has consequences and swear words get drowned out by loud sound effects, we need more awesome franchises that will embrace a gritty, hard R rating. The Accountant does this, and it does it well.
