Atomic Blonde 2 has been in development for a long time, but concrete updates have been few and far between.
The sequel to Charlie Theron's 2017 action thriller, directed by John Wick's David Leitch and distributed by Universal's Focus Features, was first confirmed to be in development in 2018 when the actress revealed that she had successfully pitched the idea to Netflix.
In 2020, it was further confirmed that the movie was happening as a Netflix exclusive film. Theron was expected to return as Lorraine Broughton, though a screenwriter had not been brought aboard yet.
Atomic Blonde 2 Gets Development Update From Director
While speaking with The Direct during a celebration event for the tenth anniversary of John Wick, Atomic Blonde director David Leitch gave a disappointing update on the status of Atomic Blonde 2.
"Everyone's still trying to unravel rights issues," he explained, adding that he does not have any updates past that:
"Everyone's still trying to unravel rights issues, and it had traveled from Universal to Netflix for a bit, and then now it's become a little bit of a bottleneck of too many forces working against each other to try and get it made, because it's such a great piece of IP and would be amazing to go back and revisit that world and that character. So, hopefully we can get it done..."
What Would an Atomic Blonde 2 Look Like?
There are certainly questions after the first Atomic Blonde ends that are begging to be answered, such as where Lorraine Broughton's real loyalty lies.
There is plenty of desire from those involved in the first film to continue the story established in Charlie Theron's stylish debut as the Cold War secret agent.
Kurt Johnstad, the writer for the first Atomic Blonde, confirmed to CinemaBlend that he has always felt that the first film was the start of a trilogy. Sadly, as of the interview earlier this year, he has not been contacted about working on any sequels.
Hopefully, the rights issues at hand can be sorted out sooner rather than later so that Charlize Theron can return and kickass in the Cold War once again.
As of writing, Atomic Blonde can be streamed on Peacock.
