Guy Ritchie will direct the sequel to “Road House” with Jake Gyllenhaal set to reprise his lead role as ex-UFC fighter Dalton.
“Road House 2” marks the third collaboration between Ritchie and Gyllenhaal and their second for Amazon MGM Studios following “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant.” The filmmaker and the Oscar and Tony-nominated actor also collaborated on the forthcoming action thriller “In the Grey.”
Will Beall (“Bad Boys: Ride or Die,” “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F”) is writing the script for the sequel, plot details for which are being kept under wraps. Producers include Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven and Alex Gartner, as well as Gyllenhaal for his Nine Stories Productions with Josh McLaughlin. Ivan Atkinson will executive produce.
“Road House,” a reboot of the 1989 classic starring Patrick Swayze, followed Gyllenhaal as a former UFC fighter struggling to make ends meet. After the owner of a Florida Keys roadhouse finds him sleeping in his car, Dalton becomes the bar’s bouncer and finds himself roped into a war of outlaws and bikers (including real-life mixed martial artist and first-time actor, Conor McGregor) and a developer determined to build a lavish resort for “rich assholes.”
The movie was viewed as a success for Amazon MGM and the studio announced a sequel was in development last summer during its inaugural Upfronts presentation. The film launched on Prime Video last March and broke records for the streamer — attracting nearly 80 million worldwide viewers in its first eight weeks to become the studio’s “most-watched produced film debut ever on a worldwide basis,” per then-studio chief Jennifer Salke.
Ritchie’s prolific filmmography includes high points like 2019’s “Aladdin” — the Disney live-action adaptation grossed over $1 billion worldwide, which is his box office pinnacle — and the British gangster comedy “The Gentlemen” — which spawned a successful spinoff series at Netflix with a second season going into production this spring. Ritchie just launched the new Paramount + drama series “MobLand,” about an organized crime family starring Tom Hardy, Helen Mirren and Pierce Brosnan. His next film, “Fountain of Youth,” with John Krasinski, Natalie Portman and Eiza González debuts May 23 on Apple TV+. Upcoming films include the black comedy “Wife & Dog” starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Rosamund Pike and Anthony Hopkins.
Ritchie steps in for director Doug Liman, who expressed frustration over the streaming release of the original “Road House” movie. Last year, Liman told IndieWire that his discontent stemmed from not being properly compensated as “Road House” was initially conceived as a theatrical release for MGM, but distribution changed when MGM was acquired by Amazon. Amazon previously indicated the film was greenlit for streaming.
Ritchie is represented by WME; Gyllenhaal is represented by WME and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher; and Beall is represented by WME, Entertainment 360, and McKuin Frankel.