Jake Gyllenhaal will return as wandering ex-MMA fighter Dalton in Road House 2, Amazon MGM has announced.
Almost as famous for its off-screen drama as the spine-rattling violence within it, Road House was clearly a success for Amazon MGM earlier this year. So much so that studio boss Jennifer Salke has gone and announced that it’s going to make a sequel, with star Jake Gyllenhaal to return as its hard-hitting lead, Elwood Dalton.
“As we saw this spring the world went crazy for a little movie called Road House,” Salke said during a fancy event in New York, according to Variety. “Nearly 8 million viewers globally have watched Road House. We like to watch this these results like a baby.”
We’re not quite sure what Ms Salke means by the baby bit, and either she was misquoted or her numbers are somewhat off – it was originally reported that about 80 million people watched Road House worldwide, and that 50 million viewers streamed the film over its first two weekends alone.
Read more: Road House review | Jake Gyllenhaal is the standout in a boisterous remake
With numbers like that behind it, though, it’s unsurprising that a sequel would be announced, despite all the behind-the-scenes kerfuffle. Its original producer, Hollywood veteran Joel Silver, left for reasons unclear (he said he left amicably; other sources said he was fired). Then there were allegations that AI was somehow used to finish the film during the Hollywood strikes (something Amazon MGM hotly contested). Lastly, and most notably, director Doug Liman wound up in a self-described “war with Amazon” over Road House's lack of a cinema release.
Liman insisted that he’d always intended for Road House to be shown on the big screen; both Amazon MGM and star Jake Gyllenhaal have said that it had been agreed from the outset that the movie would go straight to Prime Video, with other sources saying the agreement included a larger budget as a sweetener.
At this early stage, it’s unclear who else besides Gyllenhaal will return for Road House 2. Given all the bad blood and burned bridges, we’d tentatively suggest that Liman won’t be directing.
Elsewhere at the Prime jamboree, a trailer for Rings Of Power season 2 has emerged, as well as news that The Boys has been renewed for a fifth run.
Meanwhile, we’ll just sit here and speculate about the potential plot for Road House 2. If the idea of having Gyllenhaal sorting out rowdy drinking establishments is being turned into a franchise, we’d be fascinated to see his character sorting out the patrons in, say, a Wetherspoons or maybe even a Harvester.
More Road House 2 news as we get it.
