Amazon Road House Sequel Already in the Works
Less than two months after the release of the Road House movie with Jake Gyllenhall, Amazon MGM Studios announced that a sequel is already in the works. And we’re not surprised.
The modern adaptation of the Patrick Swayze production unexpectedly received higher ratings than its predecessor. Described as an “adrenaline-fueled reimagining of the 80s cult classic,” it merited a 73% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon Studios, revealed the happy news at the company’s first advertising sales event in New York called Upfront. “As we saw this spring, the world went crazy for a little movie called Road House. Nearly 8 million viewers globally have watched Road House. We like to watch these results like a baby”.
Gyllenhaal will of course be reprising his role as Dalton in the action-packed sequel. The character is a former UFC fighter who was hired as a bouncer for a Florida Keys roadhouse.
“I am so ready, like I love this character, I love this world, I love the thing that we’ve created, and I can’t wait to bring more,” he shared at the event.
The studio said the remake “has attracted nearly 80 million worldwide viewers to date.” It was also the first feature film to have more than 50 million viewers globally within the first two weekends.
The reason for its popularity? Jake Gyllenhaal.
While the star power of the Love & Other Drugs actor certainly hasn’t hurt, there was also some controversy surrounding Director Doug Liman and Amazon ahead of its March release.
It turns out the streaming release bothered Director Doug Liman to the point that he claimed he would boycott the premier. Liman preferred a theatrical release while Amazon wanted to send it straight to streaming.
The 58-year-old said at the time, “Contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas. Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon’s Prime. Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using Road House to sell plumbing fixtures. That hurts the filmmakers and stars of Road House who don’t share in the upside of a hit movie on a streaming platform.”
He later made a surprise appearance at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. While Liman was seated and minding his own business, Jake rallied the crowd and had them chanting “Doug! Doug! Doug!”
What everyone wants to know now is—can Liman overlook the disagreement and is he willing to direct the next installment?
Amazon is keeping details of the upcoming film under wraps for now. Hence, there’s little information if Liman will be giving it his creative direction.
The sequel’s cast and plot also remain a mystery.
What we do know is the Irish megastar McGregor (Knox in Road House) is unlikely to return. He confirmed his absence from the next film on Instagram. After sharing news about the sequel, he wrote, “Congrats guys, wish you all the best of luck with it ❤️🙏.”
