The Direct's Russ Milheim was on the red carpet at the Los Angeles premiere for The Accountant 2, where director Gavin O'Connor revealed that Anna Kendrick's Dana Cummings could return in the future.
The Accountant 2 follows Ben Affleck's character, Christian Wolff, and his brother, Braxton Wolff (played by Jon Bernthal), as they work to uncover a long-unresolved conspiracy with the help of Cynthia Addai-Robinson's character, Marybeth Medina.
Why Anna Kendrick Didn't Appear In The Accountant 2 - And Why She Could Return In The Accountant 3
"Don't Be Surprised If Dana, Anna [Kendrick], Show Up in the Third Film."
In the original 2016 film The Accountant, Anna Kendrick plays Dana Cummings, the love interest for Ben Affleck's Christian Wolff, and the person of interest he is working hard to keep safe throughout the movie.
Sadly, while her character survived the events of that adventure, Dana does not make an appearance in The Accountant 2.
On the red carpet for The Accountant 2, Gavin O'Connor spoke with The Direct about Anna Kendrick's future in the franchise.
- The Direct: "One thing I found really interesting about this is that the movie kind of starts off with the romantic kind of focus, then it kind of sheds it pretty quickly... But like with that in mind, how did the choice of not having a romantic focus enhance the story you were telling? And then going right off of that, was Anna Kendrick's character ever considered to be a part of this film?"
Gavin O'Connor: No, it was never—the second film was always for Bill [Dubuque] and I to start to unite the two brothers. Very slowly. They had to start to start to fix all their can I say shit, all their shit, their issues.
So, that was always the intention for the second movie. And the third movie, and I wanted to set up that Chris is still looking for love and looking for connection, which I'm going to explore deeper in the third movie.
So, don't be surprised if Dana, Anna [Kendrick] shows up in the third film.
It's worth noting that as of now, a third film in The Accountant franchise has not yet been officially greenlit, but it's clear that Gavin O'Connor has every intention of continuing this story.
Daniella Pineda on Her Character's Major Focus In The Accountant 2
"It Was Nice to Be the Central Theme in a Ben Affleck Movie."
The Accountant 2's opening scene introduces audiences to Daniella Pineda's Anaïs, an assassin of sorts whose identity and backstory are the key mysteries behind the entire sequel.
On the red carpet for the sequel, The Direct spoke with Pineda about her character's heavy focus in the movie.
- The Direct: "My first question is, just, how intimidating was it to go up against not only The Accountant, but Ben Affleck? I mean, like, he's been Batman, you know."
Daniella Pineda: Yea, you know what? It's so funny because when I saw Ben, I didn't think of Batman. I know that, like every guy thinks of Batman, like all my male cousins are like, dude, Batman and the Punisher. And I was like, Oh yeah, right, okay, yeah.
It's more like, oh shit. The guy who's in 'Good Will Hunting' is older now, and I was in this movie, and the guy who directed 'Argo,' like, I love Argo, by the way. So I think I was more hyped. I was more hyped on that front, but I was also a huge fan of the first movie. I saw it in theaters.
And I didn't realize until I got the script like, holy shit. The whole movie is about my character. So it was nice to be the central theme in a Ben Affleck movie.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson on the Dynamic Between Christian Wolff and Medina
"I Would Like to Think That I Would Put Him In His Place..."
The Direct also spoke with Cynthia Addai-Robinson (Marybeth Medina) on the red carpet for The Accountant 2 red carpet where she touched on the dynamic between her character and Ben Affleck's Marybeth Medina.
- The Direct: "Medina's teaming up with Christian Wolff. Is he gonna be a bad influence on her, or are you gonna put him in his place?"
Cynthia Addai-Robinson: I would like to think that I would put him in his place, but something tells me that maybe there's some sort of middle ground. I think they each have something to learn from one another, but they're also kind of like cut from the same cloth.
They're like two sides of a coin, or whatever you say. So, there's something interesting about once they are determined to try and resolve something, it's like they're like a dog with a bone, right? So, I think that they are kind of kindred spirits in that way. But for this question, let's just say I think I would be the one to change him.
The Surprising Challenges Making The Accountant 2
"It Was So Big... The Amount of People They Had on Set..."
The Direct also spoke with another handful of actors on The Accountant 2 red carpet, including Robert Morgan (Burke), Grant Harvey (Cobb), Joe Holt (Dr. Trace Williams), Allison Robertson (Justine), and Presley Alexander (Lane).
- The Direct: "With your time on this movie, what was the most surprising challenge you faced during your time on it?"
Robert Morgan: That it was so big, the amount of people they had on the set, the amount of crew, the amount of extras, the amount of cast, it's like, I've got to do a good job. That really, really scared me. No, it didn't scare me that much. But the challenge was, this story, these stories, these people have done this before, so I've got to do a fucking good job. Yeah, so it's inspiring, and Gavin O'Connor is a really great director, because he had a great script, and he's a really welcoming director.
Grant Harvey: Honestly, it was figuring out how to make my work on the long gun, like the sniper rifle, realistic. So, I actually brought the Navy SEAL who trained me on the long gun with me tonight to the premiere. He's here. His name's Ben...
He took me out into the desert with a bunch of Team guys, and we shot crazy amounts of bullets into the mountain. It was awesome. It's crazy that acting has made me pretty decent with weapons like it has. I would have never anticipated that.
Joe Holt: I think having five pages of techno talk about diseases and neurology was quite a challenge, but I really loved having to do it, and what it led to was an amazing surprise that I was working with a good friend of mine from 20 years ago, Cynthia.
So you know, it's—actors love having challenges like that. You know, you have to be a neurologist - you have to be loose, friendly, and fun. And it was really great.
Allison Robertson: The surprising challenge was visualizing the final product and communicating with actors when I did not have them in front of me.
So, most of my scenes were performed by myself, with readers, and so I got to use my imagination a lot, and then seeing clips and snippets of the final product was so fascinating to see how the movie actually came out.
Presley Alexander (Lane): To be completely honest with you, everyone was too nice and I didn't know what to do, because everyone was so accommodating and so prepared to work with me, and knew a lot about autism already and how to accommodate for people.
I'm very used to having to explain myself and having to be like I have autism. This doesn't mean that I'm a child. I'm still an adult woman. I just have certain needs. I don't like loud noises. I don't like certain textures.
And they were all like, no, yeah, we're gonna make the set as quiet as we possibly can. We got some bugs for you, because we know that's your special interest. So there are some bugs on the set for you to hang out with. Yeah, go have fun. I was like, what? Huh? Just, we're just going? You just know? It was awesome.
The full red carpet interviews can be viewed here:
The Accountant 2 hits theaters on April 25, 2025.
