The Accountant 2 Sadly Confirmed My Theory About A Major Character Death In New Trailer, But I'm Still All-In On Ben Affleck's Return

In the grand scheme of 2025 movies, The Accountant 2 has to be one of the most long-awaited gems. Sure, nine years between sequels isn’t that much of a stretch when compared to other franchises, but I’m pumped nonetheless that Ben Affleck’s action/thriller sequel is actually happening. That much has been proven to be true at this moment, as the first trailer is now up, and there's a lot to discuss.

Don't Expect Much. J.K. Simmons In The Accountant 2

Things are looking quite dangerous in this sequel to 2016’s Gavin O’Connor-directed hit, as Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) and his brother Brax (Jon Bernthal) are embroiled in a pretty personal conflict. And just as I’d suspected from the moment the synopsis mentioned the murder of an “old acquaintance” as the catalyst for this adventure, J.K . Simmons’ Ray King has turned in his Treasury badge for the great beyond.

While it’s expected, I’m still kind of bummed that the Academy Award winner has checked his last counterfeit bill. At the same time, that lends The Accountant 2 a set of stakes that weren’t present in the first picture, as we mostly saw Christian Wolff deal with the job and not his emotions.

Part of that journey is going to come from re-teaming with The Rings of Power cast member Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who played Treasury agent Marybeth Medina from the previous picture. I can definitely see where Addai-Robinson's excitement over The Accountant 2 comes from, as she now gets to work on the frontlines with Mr. Affleck at this time of crisis. And that doesn’t look like the only emotional paydirt on the menu either!

The Accountant 2 Promises Some Brotherly Ben Affleck/Jon Bernthal Drama

Beyond all of the combat that lies ahead in The Accountant 2, there’s an unexpectedly touching angle that looks to be present. Amidst the dry humor between this “good killer, bad killer” pair of siblings, and the threat of the various parties who took out J.K. Simmons’ character, we see the signs of two men trying to reconnect as family.

What I’m about to say is no insult to Jon Bernthal, but out of the two actors, I’m more used to Ben Affleck plumbing those depths in his career. So to see Bernthal’s Brax asking his brother if he even missed him pulls at my heartstrings. And yes, I know The Punisher afforded him the opportunity to dip into some tragic drama in Frank Castle's backstory, but that's a whole other animal from trying to reconnect with your brother.

Though in the opposite direction, it still blows me away to see Affleck doing the sort of ass-kicking I’d expect from the once-and-future Punisher.

I still can’t believe that this movie even happened, as when I spoke to The Way Back director back in 2020, The Accountant 2 seemed like a dead end. But then in 2021, during O’Connor’s ReelBlend appearance, the man walked back that statement with an announcement that Christian Wolff would live to crunch numbers, and necks, once more.

Part of what made this all possible may have been Affleck's co-creation of Artists Equity, a production company founded by himself and his dear friend/collaborator Matt Damon. That'd totally explain the almost decade-long wait for this next chapter. While it may be too early to tell, as The Accountant 2 doesn’t head to theaters until April 25th, but so far the wait looks to have been worth it.

And if you need me to show my receipts for that claim, just zip back to the end of the trailer. I don't know about you, but watching Ben Affleck wrecking shop with an automatic rifle, while Jon Bernthal hot swaps to his pistol, feels like a thing of beauty.

With that in mind, please be aware that this movie is being released 10 days after Tax Day in the US. So be sure to have your returns in order ahead of time, as I’m sure none of us would want to learn how cross Christian Wolff must look when someone tries to file without a proper extension.