The Road House remake, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as ex-UFC fighter turned bouncer Elwood Dalton, was a hit for the Prime Video streaming service when it was released last year (it drew in 80 million viewers during its first eight weeks), so Amazon MGM Studios wants to get a sequel into production as quickly as possible. It was clear that remake director Doug Liman wasn’t going to return to the helm, and he was very upset about the movie being released through Prime Video instead of being given a theatrical run, so Amazon turned to Guy Ritchie, who worked with Gyllenhaal on the 2023 war movie The Covenant and the upcoming action film In the Grey. Ritchie signed on four months ago… but two weeks ago, it was announced that he had dropped out of the project for unspecified reasons. Now, Amazon has found his replacement – and the search only took two weeks because they didn’t have to look far. Deadline reports that Ilya Naishuller, whose action comedy Heads of State was just released through Prime Video on July 2nd (and has ranked at #1 on the streamer ever since), is now in negotiations to direct Road House 2. Filming is expected to begin this fall.
Anthony Bagarozzi and Charles Mondry wrote the screenplay for the remake, but Will Beall is writing Road House 2. Beall’s previous credits include Gangster Squad, Aquaman, Zack Snyder’s Justice League, Bad Boys: Ride or Die, and Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F. Details on the sequel’s plot are being kept under wraps, but it was recently reported that there might be a role for Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy) in the film.
Jake Gyllenhaal is, of course, reprising the role of Elwood Dalton. He’s also producing the film alongside Josh McLaughlin of Nine Stories Productions. Charles Roven and Alex Gartner are producing for Atlas Entertainment.
Ilya Naishuller got his career started in the world of music videos, then made his feature directorial debut with the first-person action flick Hardcore Henry, then followed that up with Nobody (which turned Bob Odenkirk into an action hero) and Heads of State. Road House 2 will be his fourth feature.
What do you think of Ilya Naishuller being chosen as the new director of Road House 2? Let us know by leaving a comment below.