Olympus Has Fallen and its sequel, London Has Fallen, weren’t particularly great movies. In fact, you could even argue that the latter was pretty awful. Still, there was something about them that really clicked with audiences and having made a nice little profit for the studio, we’ll now be getting a third entry in the form of Angel Has Fallen.
Gerard Butler will be back to kick some more ass and avoid death more times than humanly possible, but it looks like Aaron Eckhart’s President Asher won’t be there to stand by his side again, as the actor told Collider he won’t be showing up in the threequel.
“The President is retired. He’s golfing and he’s amassing his library right now, so… [salutes].”
Seeing as the film will have Butler’s Mike Banning gearing up for battle once again as new enemies prepare to wage war on Washington D.C., you’d think that the President would have a part to play here. Not to mention that early plot rumors have pointed to Air Force One being a central aspect of the film as well.
Who knows, though? Perhaps there was an election in the time since London Has Fallen and a new leader has been sworn into office. Either way, Eckhart will definitely not be returning. It’s unclear why that is, but given the fact that his profile seems to be on the up and up now what with strong turns in both Sully and Bleed for This, he may not want to star in this type of role anymore. Sure, both Fallen films were entertaining enough as far as mindless blockbusters go, but a part like this won’t exactly earn him awards recognition.
Angel Has Fallen is set for a theatrical release in 2018, and you can rest assured that Mike Banning will return – with or without the President of the United States.