Netflix's Extraction with Chris Hemsworth was a solid hit for the streaming service, so much so that a sequel to the movie was given the greenlight in short order. Sam Hargrave, who directed the first film, will be back to helm the second, but the director clearly has his eyes on a lot more than just one more Extraction movie. In fact, it's looking like Extraction could become Netflix's own little James Bond style franchise.
Sam Hargrave recently spoke with Collider revealing that while he hopes that the Extraction 2 crew will contain most of the same people who worked on the first film, he also sees the potential for more Extraction movies after that. Furthermore, Hargrave hopes to be able to pass the torch to up and coming directors who can put their own spin on the material. According to the filmmaker himself,
Hopefully we get to do the second one with all the same team and really establish the franchise, if you will. But from there I would love to see, as a fan of cinema, other young directors who, again, can push the level of action.
Sam Hargrave is a fairly new director himself, as Extraction was his feature film debut after being a stunt coordinator for many blockbuster action films including many in the MCU. The Russo Brothers produced Extraction and Joe Russo wrote the script so it sounds like they could be looking at a similar format here, where future movies could follow characters other than Chris Hemsworth's Tyler Rake. This would create many different directions for story to go, including new characters and actors to work with.
None of this is to say that Sam Hargrave is looking to completely leave the Extraction franchise behind for greener pastures. He says he would like to remain involved in some capacity, but he also wants to give others the opportunity to try new things in order to keep the series fresh. As he put it,
So, [as far as] my personal involvement, I would like to be as involved as possible but I also don't want to be greedy. There's a lot of other super talented filmmakers out there who would have very unique visions and would bring something new and fresh to the franchise that I would be excited to see as a fan.
Some action franchises are focused on the same people, actors, directors, and writers, putting together new stories again and again, and others are about going new people chances to create something fresh with each iteration. It sounds like Netflix could be going this latter route with Extraction, and it's sort of a beautiful idea. Extraction could become a gateway for action filmmakers, where new talents take on an entry in order to show their chops, before moving on to bigger films. If so, the next MCU or James Bond director could be discovered through the Extraction franchise.
