Netflix
Netflix has a new hit blockbuster, a rarity for the service. That’s War Machine, a sci-fi action film starring Reacher actor Alan Ritchson that probably would have been in theaters 5-10 years ago, but this is the new era we live in. Now, its star has an update on a potential War Machine 2.
ScreenRant spoke to Ritchson and gushed about the potential sequel, even though Netflix has not announced one. Plans seem to be in place.
“Tons. Let me say it for [the director], tons,” Ritchson said. “War Machines is going to be sick. The whole thing, we got a whole thing.”
Yes, that’s “War Machines” with an “s,” not War Machine 2, but same difference. This was originally conceived as a standalone story, but director Patrick Hughes said, “if I ever got the opportunity to take it further, I know exactly where it’s going, and I’ve sketched it out…It’s impossible not to, as a writer, to think about,” Hughes continued. “I fell in love with the character of 81, and the universe of sort of everything he’s going through. So look, if that call comes in, then yes, I’m ready to pull the trigger.”
Ritchson teased potentially even more sequels, excited about the new franchise, which could join his time as Reacher, also seemingly renewed for infinite seasons on Amazon Prime Video. Busy guy.
Amazon
War Machine was not some wild critic and audience success, though reviews were a positive 69% and 73% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively. But it is the #1 movie on the service, and of course, Netflix cares about viewership above all else. Sometimes its good action movies get sequels (Extraction), sometimes its bad ones do (The Old Guard), but I think hanging on to a new-era action star like Ritchson, one of its competitors’ best assets, is probably a good idea for Netflix.
Though who knows when such a thing might be announced. Extraction 2 was announced just 10 days after the first movie aired. The Old Guard 2 wasn’t announced until 13 months later. Some movies that were supposed to get sequels or spawn cinematic universes, like Red One and The Gray Man, never did. And Red One was the most popular movie on the service for many years (recently dethroned by KPop Demon Hunters, of course, where that sequel isn’t coming until 2030, most likely).
Indications are that War Machine will probably get the go-ahead from Netflix if it can maintain this level of viewership for any length of time. Again, Ritchson is a big asset, and if Netflix can spawn its own cool action-sci series after say, Rebel Moon and The Electric State failed spectacularly to do that, it probably should.
