With an unimpressive 54% on Rotten Tomatoes, it seems that popular opinion on Denzel Washington’s latest action-thrillerSafe House is decidedly mixed (read our review). However, the film – no doubt bolstered by the box appeal of Washington and co-star Ryan Reynolds – managed to rein in $202 million worldwide against an $85 million production budget. So, naturally, here comes the sequel.
David Guggenheim (who penned Safe House) has reportedly signed on to write the untitled sequel. Directed by Daniel Espinosa, the original film follows CIA Agent Matt Weston (Reynolds) who’s assigned to protect a rogue agent (Washington) within the confines of a safe house in South Africa.
At this point, neither Reynolds nor Washington has been confirmed to return for the sequel, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Given the way the first film concluded, it’s unknown how large a role Washington’s character will have in the script, though the actor’s star power means the studio is interested in including him.
Both actors are juggling busy schedules, with numerous projects in various states of development. Washington – who will next be seen in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight – is attached to The Equalizer (an adaptation of the 1980s television series) and is considering a part in Stephen Gaghan’s crime thriller Candy Store, possibly alongside Brad Pitt. Meanwhile, Reynolds stars in next year’s comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. and may still be called upon to reprise his role as Green Lantern in the Justice League film.
Regardless, the Safe House sequel seems like it would be a slam-dunk for Universal, the studio distributing the film – especially if they manage to lock Washington down for an appearance. Otherwise, perhaps Reynolds could be assigned to protect another high-profile actor, since his presence alone isn’t exactly a reliable box office draw just yet.
Check back to Screen Rant for details on the Safe House sequel.
Source: THR
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Safe House was a very weak and forgettable movie. Why make a sequel?
One Answer: $125 million domestic box office is enough for a sequel. Film it here in the states and keep the cost down.
Yeah, but when people realized how lame the movie was the already had paid for it. The second time around they hopefully will not be tricked as easily.
Agreed, Winchester.
Safe what? See I already forgot about it
Didn’t Washington’s character die in the end of Safe House.
It was a decent action flick, somewhat refreshing so if they can improve on the first’s shortcomings Im all for it.
Yah, fell for it once, I’ll wait for the rental if they make a sequel. The movie was a big disappointment, and I’m a big Denzel Washington fan…
i agree that it would be weird or hard to make a sequel due to the end. however i wouldn’t call it a disappointment. you guys make it seem like you were waiting 10 years to see it and then went and cried after. give em a break. for what it was in the genre its in and so many movies similar, it was halfway decent. not to mention the acting and action were pretty good too. we aren’t talking about star wars or harry potter here. go away little kids.
Seeing as the first film ended the way it did, how will they make a sequel that makes sense.
I know the movie made a crapload, but story is king and they have nowhere to go in this story without making it a different movie
Big ol’ mistake. Only reason I saw it was because of Denzel.
Just like they are making sequel to Salt which also had story concluded.
@Maximum
Yah, Salt, the story with the most predictable twist ever… Not looking forward to that sequel either…
I actually liked Safe House.
It wasn’t near the quality of the Bourne films, or other movies of the genre, but it was enjoyable for me…
That said, a sequel for this movie is completely unnecessary IMO. I’ll reserve my judgement till I see the movie (which’ll probably be a rental-viewing though, depending on when it’s released), because you never know… they might improve on the first one.
Not all movies that make a good profit need a sequel. This movie did good for one reason, Denzel. But was it good enough for a sequel. No.
Really not anticipating this. Safe House was the definition of ‘meh’.
Meh movie indeed
Safe House was awesome. It was wayyy better than I thought it was going to be.
Thanks for the news, Robert. Just yesterday, I went online and rented Safe House before I left my office at DISH, and it was already downloaded to my Hopper when I got home. I had high hopes for the movie considering the cast, but there were issues with the script and pacing that even Denzel couldn’t overcome. I am not opposed to a sequel but they will have to watch out for the pacing issues. At the very least they need to step up the action in the next film.