Starring Ben Affleck, The Accountant was released in 2016 to critical acclaim and box office success. The film was directed by Gavin O’Connor, who is now returning with a second installment after almost nine years. As a result, O’Connor sat down for a chat and discussed the upcoming sequel as early reviews started dropping in.
During the interview, O’Connor talked about reuniting with Affleck and revealed why the sequel took so long to make. At the same time, the director also shed light on the personal reason he wanted to make the second installment about a certain subject. Here is why Gavin O’Connor chose one particular storyline for The Accountant 2.
The Accountant 2 director revealed the reason he wanted to make the sequel
The Accountant 2 is slated to premiere next month, with the follow-up to Ben Affleck‘s 2016 thriller film generating plenty of hype. The movie is directed by Gavin O’Connor, who also helmed the first installment, which grossed $155.2 million globally (via Box Office Mojo).
O’Connor recently chatted with Den of Geek regarding the upcoming movie, where he revealed a personal reason for wanting to make the sequel about one subject he had been chasing for far too long.
I also wanted to build a movie around human trafficking. Since 2018, that’s been really important to me, and I just wanted to be able to shine a light on that.
O’Connor made the above statement, explaining that he was deeply interested in exploring the subject of human trafficking, with the sequel providing him with the opportunity.
Furthermore, the director also added that the core mystery for the sequel had to be complicated enough for Affleck and Jon Bernthal’s characters to get involved but not get too convoluted. As a result, it is safe to say that the director managed to walk the tight rope with the subject, as early reviews for the film have been extremely positive (via Variety).
The Accountant 2 director explained why the sequel took so long to make
During the same interview, O’Connor revealed why it took almost nine years for the sequel to materialize. The director shed light on some obstacles faced by the production from the scripting stage. O’Connor revealed that Warner Bros was initially hesitant to greenlight a sequel despite the first installment’s decent box office success.
While the studio eventually commissioned a script for the sequel, the creative team later decided to take the project elsewhere.
They were generous enough to let us leave and take it to Amazon, which felt like the right place for a number of reasons, starting with the fact that a lot of our friends that were at Warner Brothers when we made the first one were now at Amazon.
O’Connor made the above statement, explaining that the project was better suited at Amazon, where it finally materialized and production could commence.
As a result, the director described the sequel as a rollercoaster ride, one which took almost nine years to reach its destination. Nonetheless, O’Connor also teased that if the second installment also proves to be a box office success, a third installment in the franchise could also happen.
The Accountant 2 will be theatrically released on April 25, 2025.
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