Gerard Butler's action sequel Angel Has Fallen has secured a summer 2019 release date. The ‘Has Fallen’ franchise has proved surprisingly robust, and launched in 2013 with Olympus Has Fallen. The movie was one of two competing White House under siege blockbusters of that year, but Olympus Has Fallen’s R-rated violence and b-movie thrills proved much more popular than Channing Tatum’s White House Down, which ultimately failed at the box office.

A sequel titled London Has Fallen was soon greenlit, with Butler’s gruff secret service agent Mike Banning having to lead the president (Aaron Eckhart) to safety after they’re shot down in a terrorist attack. The movie received mostly bad reviews based on its ugly tone and cheap CGI, but it proved to be another success. The third, and supposedly final, chapter Angel Has Fallen was soon announced, which finds Banning on the run after he’s framed for an assassination attempt on the president.

Related: Angel Has Fallen Is The Logan Of The ‘Has Fallen’ Franchise

After being the vice president in the previous two outings, Morgan Freeman has – naturally – been promoted to president for Angel Has Fallen, when Eckhart declined to return. Butler has promised Angel Has Fallen will be a darker, more character driven entry, and has compared the sequel’s tone to 2017’s Logan. Now THR is reporting the movie finally has a concrete release date and will arrive in cinemas August 23, 2019.

Gerard Butler seems to have found a comfortable niche as the leading man in mid-budget, R-rated action movies. In addition to the ‘Has Fallen’ franchise, he also scored a hit with Den Of Thieves and will return as scowling cop Big Nick for the sequel. The actor hasn’t had a great run leading blockbuster films, however, with both Gods Of Egypt and Geostorm being critical and commercial duds in recent years.

He’s also hoping to launch a brand new franchise with Afterburn, which is based on the graphic novel of the same name. The story takes place in the aftermath of a giant solar flare that destroyed the Eastern Hemisphere, turning it into a mutant-filled wasteland. Butler leads a gang of thieves into this scorched landscape to steal rare objects. The actor has stated he wants to end strong with Angel Has Fallen, but while the movie is supposedly the final installment, it's not hard to envision another sequel happening if it does well enough.

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Source: THR