Director David Leitch knows something about launching action franchises. After all, back in 2014 he collaborated with co-director Chad Stahelski to bring us the fantastic John Wick, and that movie has not only already inspired a Chapter 2 and a video game, but also a developing Chapter 3 and television series. It was with this in mind that I recently asked the filmmaker about the potential for a follow-up to his latest directorial effort -- Atomic Blonde -- and he told me it would be an opportunity he would be very much be interested in. Said Leitch,
Yeah! We're in discussions, and I think everyone involved in the creative wants to do it. It will just be... we'll see how well the film does, and fingers crossed people want to see [Charlize Theron's] Lorraine go on more adventures! I'd be happy to do it!
I had the pleasure of sitting down for an interview with David Leitch at San Diego Comic-Con, and after a long conversation about the making of Atomic Blonde I hit him with the sequel question. And while the movie's box office performance will ultimately have a huge say in whether or not we will ever see an Atomic Blonde 2, the best news that Leitch could provide is that it's something that he and his creative team (presumably including writer Kurt Johnstad) would be thrilled to pursue.
Atomic Blonde certainly has all the makings of a franchise-starter so far -- particularly in that it introduces an incredibly exciting new protagonist to the world of modern action films. It was only a couple years ago that Charlize Theron floored us with Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road, but now she's being introduced to the world as the badass Lorraine Broughton, an MI6 agent operating in Cold War-era Berlin and constantly, deftly fighting for her life in the process. In the same way that Keanu Reeves was called upon to do a great deal of his own stunts in John Wick, Atomic Blonde reveals Theron as a serious ass-kicker in her own right, and an Atomic Blonde 2 would obviously be a perfect vehicle for her to continue showing off her skills.
Of course, should everything pan out at the box office, there would be the question of "When?" and that's a fairly big question mark -- particularly because of what else David Leitch currently has going on. The filmmaker is right now in the midst of directing the hotly-anticipated (and untitled) Deadpool 2, and considering there have already been talks about Deadpool 3, one has to wonder exactly how much time Leitch might have in the coming years to work on an Atomic Blonde 2. We'll just have to wait and see!
You can watch our full Atomic Blonde interview with David Leitch at San Diego Comic-Con by clicking play on the video below!
Atomic Blonde, which stars Charlize Theron alongside James McAvoy, Toby Jones, John Goodman, and Sofia Boutella, is in theaters now -- and stay tuned for more updates about the a potential franchise future here on CinemaBlend!
