As unlikely as it may seem (or maybe not, when you consider the surprisingly high box office receipts), Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart’s White House takeover pic Olympus Has Fallen will be getting an equally ludicrous, action-packed sequel with the upcoming London Has Fallen. And despite Olympus helmer Antoine Fuqua and Charlie Countryman filmmaker Fredrik Bond both backing away from the project over its creative direction, Millenium Films isn’t giving up. Now, we’re hearing that Scandinavian director Babak Najafi is being eyed to take the reins.
Though he’s hardly a household name, Najafi has a solid resume and is best known for directing Joel Kinnaman in another sequel, Easy Money II: Hard to Kill. He has also helmed episodes of the action-packed Cinemax series Banshee and made his debut on the acclaimed drama Sebbe. According to Deadline, Najafi is the favorite to helm London Has Fallen, and the gig is his if a deal can be made.
The sequel, again scribed by Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt in addition to Christian Gudegast, will find Presidential Detail head Mike Banning (Butler), President Benjamin Asher (Eckhart) and Speaker Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) reunited for the funeral of the British Prime Minister, who has passed away under mysterious circumstances. Suddenly caught in the midst of a terrorist plot to assassinate attending world leaders, the trio must rely on the help of a mysterious MI-6 agent to help them wrest back control of the UK capital. Also returning for the follow-up are Radha Mitchell and Angela Bassett, playing Banning’s love interest Leah and Secret Service Director Lynn Jacobs (respectively).
London Has Fallen will open October 2nd, 2015. It is due to roll cameras for a month later this year before breaking until February so that Butler can shoot action pic Geostorm.
