Martin Campbell's The Protégé brings a new cinematic assassin to the big screen in Maggie Q's Anna, but is The Protégé 2 on the way? The first film tells the story of Anna's quest for revenge on behalf of her mentor Moody (Samuel L. Jackson). Standing between Anna and her vengeance is Michael Keaton's Rembrandt, who comes to have a complicated relationship with the main protagonist.
The Protégé is a return to the action genre for Campbell, who made his name with films such as GoldenEye, Casino Royale, and The Mask Of Zorro. In an interview with Screen Rant, Campbell talked about what originally drew him to The Protégé, saying, "It was a very interesting story written by Richard Wenk - and it was unusual for a film like this because most of these female assassin or even male assassin stories take second banana to the action and everything else. But this was a really intriguing story with intriguing relationships, so it was the combination of those two that really got me going."
With an excited director and an intriguing concept, will The Protégé be able to carve out its own action franchise?
Will The Protégé 2 Happen?
It's unclear whether a sequel to The Protégé will be greenlit due to the film's underperformance at the box office. The Protégé grossed only $2.93 million from 2,577 locations in the U.S. and Canada in its opening weekend, finishing a distant seventh on the weekend chart (Aug. 20-22). The good news for The Protégé is the film's CinemaScore was a "B," which was higher than both adult-targeted new releases Reminiscence (C+) and The Night House (C-). Studios have also been keeping outside factors like COVID-19 in mind when judging box office receipts, so the film's popularity in its eventual streaming release could play a huge factor in determining whether to continue the story.
The Protégé 2 Release Date
There is no release date set for The Protégé 2. However, if the sequel does go forward, it will likely be at least two or three years until it comes out considering how long movie development usually takes.
The Protégé 2 Cast
Maggie Q has already expressed interest in returning for a possible The Protégé 2. In a discussion with Collider Ladies Night, the actress stated:
I would love more. I don’t think I’ve ever really said that. First of all, this cast, but also, I really want to work with Martin again and I think it would be really fun to team up again on something like this. We did leave it open and so we shall see. And it’s not obnoxious. It’s fun! It’s like, listen, if audiences respond to it, we’ll probably get to. If they don’t then, you know, it’s a different story, but we’ll see.
Keaton's involvement would certainly depend on his filming schedule, but The Protégé's ending left the fate of his Rembrandt character intentionally vague. With several films in the pipeline, including his return as Bruce Wayne/Batman in Andy Muschietti's upcoming The Flash feature, Keaton will continue to be a hot commodity in the near future. The ability to secure Keaton - or someone with comparable name recognition - will be key in continuing The Protégé story.
The Protégé 2 Story Details
Since no sequel has been officially announced, The Protégé writer Richard Wenk hasn't revealed any plot details of The Protégé 2. However, based on the ending of the first movie, it's clear Anna would return to continue her story, and there would be plenty of directions to take her character.