The partnership between Charlize Theron and Netflix already looks to be paying huge dividends, with The Old Guard only dropping on the streaming service yesterday, but already dominating the online conversation and generating plenty of buzz after going down a storm with both subscribers and critics alike.
The comic book adaptation ends on a blatant sequel-baiting note, and given how popular it became on day one it seems like just a matter of time before a follow-up is officially announced. However, before then the Academy Award-winning actress has another action-orientated sequel in the works, with Theron confirming that Atomic Blonde 2 is now in active development.
Directed by John Wick’s David Leitch, the first installment is one of the most little-seen and underrated action movies in recent memory, bringing in a solid-if-unspectacular $100 million at the box office against a $30 million budget and winning plenty of praise for the hard-hitting fight choreography and set pieces along with yet another memorable Theron performance in the lead.
Atomic Blonde finished on a deliberately ambiguous note, although it seemed unlikely a sequel would happen given the relatively thin profit margins, but that’s never deterred Netflix before, with the company keen to move forward on producing as much in-house content as possible.
In a recent interview, the Mad Max: Fury Road star explained how the project came together, and admitted that there’s much more to explore in terms of expanding leading lady Lorraine Broughton as a character.
“We took it to them, and Scott Stuber was really interested in it. We talked to him about it extensively, and we’re in the process of writing it right now. That character was set up in a way where she didn’t really reveal much of herself. So I feel there’s a lot of potential there. The bar’s pretty high, but we’re excited about it.”
Netflix are making a real push to corner the market in star-driven action movies with Ryan Reynolds, Chris Hemsworth, Dwayne Johnson and Theron herself all getting on board in recent years, and the idea of Atomic Blonde 2 seems like a no-brainer. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that it eventually leads to the mouth-watering prospect of a John Wick crossover.