While Heads of State may not be out just yet, the director of the John Cena and Idris Elba-led Amazon Studios and MGM Studios film addressed what a sequel could look like. The movie follows Cena's U.S. President and Elba's UK Prime Minister, who are forced to team up to survive and unravel a massive conspiracy trying to kill them and reshape the world stage.
The movie, releasing on Amazon Studios' Prime Video on July 2, 2025, also stars Priyanka Chopra, Paddy Considine, Carla Gugino, Jack Quaid, and more. The Direct spoke with Heads of State director Ilya Naishuller in an exclusive interview, where he revealed how he feels, "There are plenty of stories you can tell with these characters." He proposed how a future movie could "combine [John Cena and Idris Elba's characters] with other heads of state from throughout the world."
Naishuller also addressed the movie's insane action, explaining that whenever those sequences start, it all "needs to make sense for the characters and for the story" and that those scenes "[need] to be relatively fresh."
Furthermore, the filmmaker described how "The action is there to serve the characters." Additionally, one of the keys to how they approached their action tonally is that "when the bullets are flying, our guys are not joking, our guys are terrified, which I think is much funnier than them giving amazing quips and one-liners."
What Could Heads of State 2 Look Like?
More Heads of States Might Join the Party.
- The Direct: "Have there been any discussions for a 'Heads of State 2'?' Any talks there? "
Ilya Naishuller: I think the way it should work is [that] the movie needs to come out. And then, if there is a certain love for it, there is a demand for it. It'd be very interesting to explore. There are plenty of stories you can tell with these characters. You know, combine them with other heads of state from throughout the world. So if there is a need and a want, rather if there is a want, we can kick ass and do it. What you want to do is, I like making a movie that's a standalone film. I understand Hollywood is all about franchises because it is a tricky business, and I respect that. But let's give them a full meal, you know, and then go from there.
- The Direct: "I really loved Jack Quaid's sequence. It was so, so good. Was there ever more of him in this movie? Or was he always that awesome set piece, and that was his?"
Ilya Naishuller: A little bit of Jack goes a long way. This was always the plan. We knew that this would be a very special part, and we were lucky that Jack loved it and wanted to do it... There was no—It's not [like] we cut something away from him, or we cut a scene. No, in fact, though, I don't think we cut a single scene from there, it's just cut the final cut. I think we lost a minute and a half, which was just trimming, trimming, trimming, to make it as punchy as possible.
Heads of State Director on Approaching the Movie's Incredible Action
"When Bullets Are Flying, Our Guys Are Not Joking..."
- The Direct: "One of the most impressive elements of 'Heads of State' was the action. What was your mission statement when approaching those set pieces and how you wanted to achieve them?"
Ilya Naishuller: I never think of it as a mission statement, I think of several parameters. It needs to make, first and foremost, it needs to make sense for the characters and for the story. Then it needs to be relatively fresh. You don't want to overcook it. Because it's not a movie that needs to be action first. The action is there to serve the characters. So, it's kind of always a balance of not going too crazy with the cameras...
I think—I just always thought it was a rule rather, where, when the bullets are flying, our guys are not joking, our guys are terrified, which I think is much funnier than them giving amazing quips and one-liners. But when the bullets aren't flying, they're having fun. So I think combine that with many, many months of storyboarding, many, many months of a fantastic stunt team doing options and options we discussed and discussed further.
In fact, tonally, the hardest thing to get right was the gopnik fight sequence, the Belarusian hoodlums. Because it's sort of slapstick. We don't go too hard. It's also the promise of the premise. Rather, you know, it's just a lot of work by a lot of people for a really long time. Yeah, it all makes sense as a cohesive film, where you don't want the action to be pulling the blanket on itself too hard.
- The Direct: "Were there any key inspirations in terms of other movies, or franchises that you kind of pulled from in piecing together these set pieces?"
Ilya Naishuller: I think overall, it's not anything particular for any set pieces. But I always, in my mind, the movie[s] [were] always 'Midnight Run,' 'Planes Trains and Automobiles,' by way of contemporary 'Mission Impossible.'
And I don't think we hit any of these movies too hard, but there's clear, not just inspiration, but certain feelings, especially from the 80s and the 90s, that feeling of the non-synthetic warmth that... Maybe I'm looking through nostalgic glasses, obviously, because that's the time I grew up and got into films.
But I think it's some stuff that's clearly inspired by Edgar Wright and Wes Anderson, who are some of my favorite filmmakers... I go by feel rather than by a list of things I want to hit, and when I hit something I'm like, Oh, I think that's a little bit this way, but I don't want to try and repeat because... movies have been around for 120 years plus.
So, it's kind of great to be able to build upon what was before, and to, if you're borrowing from somebody, it's good to borrow. Everybody borrows... Don't just steal it. Just build upon that a little bit and push the bound a little bit.
Creating a Fun Action Movie Within Real-Life Political Turmoil
Ilya Naishuller Wants Heads of State to Unite People.
- The Direct: "'Heads of State' is an interesting movie to have during today's real-life political turmoil. How did you want this film to either reflect or not reflect the reality of today's world?"
Ilya Naishuller: Look, I set out to make an hour forty-five minutes, high-quality entertainment that has politics as a background. I'm happy it's coming out on July 4th, because I think Americans are getting together and not arguing over politics and enjoying something that is a great film that makes me happy, rather than dividing people further.
Look, the world is always in turmoil. Some places more than others, things change. Things get tough, things get better. My goal here was to entertain, and I think we did a pretty damn good job.
And in terms of messaging or trying to tell people what to do and what to feel, I loved having leaders, Idris' character and John's character, the prime minister of the UK and the president United States are people who are politicians that care about their people, that made me feel good. And that's why, if you look at the interplay and how they view the world their characters, I agree with both of them, and together, they make sense, and that's what really the film is about.
The entire discussion can be seen below:
Fans of John Cena should check out the latest news of his upcoming show, Peacemaker, including the confirmed DCU heroes appearing in the series.
