The Accountant resonated with movie fans since it was released in 2016, but what is the status of the sequel?
Distributed by Warner Bros., The Accountant followed Christian Wolff (portrayed by Ben Affleck), an unusually proficient freelance accountant who worked for criminal organizations.
Even though the action thriller didn't perform particularly well at the box office, its fanbase has since grown, with many expressing great interest in seeing The Accountant 2.
When Is The Accountant 2 Releasing
The Accountant premiered in theaters in 2016, and just one year later Deadline confirmed that Ben Affleck and director Gavin O'Connor were set to return for a sequel.
According to the report, screenwriter Bill Dubuque and producers Lynette Howard Taylor and Mark Williams were also prepared to return.
Just a few years later in 2021, O'Connor was a guest on CinemaBlend's podcast where he revealed a few more details on how far along The Accountant 2 was.
Even though it was reportedly in development years before, O'Connor revealed that he had "just closed that deal" in 2021 to have the film made:
"There will not be a 'Way Back sequel,' but we are doing an 'Accountant' sequel. We literally just closed that deal. We’re doing 'The Accountant again.'"
Even then, no news regarding The Accountant 2 surfaced in the following years until industry insider Daniel Richtman reported that the film was officially a go at Amazon. As shared by JoBlo, Richtman also corroborated previous reports that O'Connor and Affleck would be returning for the sequel.
Since it has been in development for so long, it is entirely possible that The Accountant 2 could begin filming sometime in 2024.
The first movie began production in January 2015 and finished in April of the same year. It was not released in theaters until October 2016, 18 months after the end of filming.
It is unlikely that The Accountant 2 will start filming in January 2024, but assuming that it did and that it would follow a similar release schedule as the original, it likely would not come out until October 2025.
It is quite unlikely that production will begin as soon as January, so fans will unfortunately have to wait until probably December 2025 at the earliest to see The Accountant 2.
Who's Cast in The Accountant 2?
As previously mentioned, Ben Affleck was unsurprisingly already confirmed to be returning for The Accountant 2.
The actor even stated in a 2020 interview with Collider that he would "be thrilled" to reprise his role, noting how he "had a great time" with the first film:
"But it is one of the few movies that I've worked on, that I'd be thrilled to work with Gavin again and do that again. I had a great time. It was a lot of fun. It was an interesting twist on the genre and I'd love to do it."
With The Accountant 2's lead taken care of, fans are wondering which characters and cast members from the first title will be joining him.
In the same Deadline report from 2016, Jon Bernthal's name was also included as a likely actor to be reprising his role in the sequel. Bernthal's character (whose name is Braxton) is Christian Wolff's brother and is expected to play a much larger role going forward.
Anna Kendrick's Dana Cummings, who also plays a fairly large role in the first movie would also likely be brought back for The Accountant 2 along with J.K. Simmons as Ray King, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina, Alison Wright as Justine, and Jeffrey Tambor as Francis Silverberg.
What Will Happen in The Accountant 2?
In the same CinemaBlend interview that was previously mentioned, director Gavin O'Connor detailed his plans for not only The Accountant 2 but also a third film.
O'Connor particularly teased Jon Bernthal's character, Braxton, will have a much larger role in the second installment, saying that "there'll be more screentime for Bernthal:"
"Yeah. Yeah. So, I’ve always wanted to do three because what, the second one’s going to be more with -- we’re going to integrate his brother into the story. So there’ll be more screen time for Bernthal in the second one."
The director also went on to reveal that The Accountant 3 will feature some striking similarities to Rain Man, meaning that Affleck and Bernthal will likely be brought back yet again in the future for "a buddy picture:"
"And then the third movie’s going to be, I call it, 'Rain Man' on steroids. The third movie is going to be the two brothers, this odd couple. The third one is going be a buddy picture."
If The Accountant 3 is going to "be a buddy picture," then The Accountant 2 will likely serve as a setup for that installment, while still including all of the action and stakes that the first title did, of course.
The Accountant was known for containing multiple shocking plot twists, and while it is impossible to predict what they could be, fans can safely assume that the upcoming sequel will also undoubtedly leave their jaws on the floor.
The Accountant 2 is reportedly in development, and the first film is currently available to stream on Hulu.
