The year was 2003. Peter Berg was directing his first feature film since his debut effort Very Bad Things in 1998. Dwayne Johnson was in the very earliest days of his Hollywood film career, having appeared in 2001's The Mummy Returns, starring in the spin-off film The Scorpion King in 2002, with a bit part as a mugger in 2001's Longshot sandwiched in between. Berg and Johnson collaborated for the first time in the action/comedy The Rundown, with The Rock as a bounty hunter tasked with tracking down his boss's troublemaking son (Seann William Scott) to haul him out of the jungles of Brazil. It was a wild ride, and a fun one at that, with supporting turns from both Christopher Walken and Rosario Dawson. It was such a fun experience, in fact, that Berg has been trying to get a sequel off the ground for a number of years now.

Now in 2016, Berg and Johnson still want to get The Rundown 2 up and running, and as Berg himself reveals, he wants to have none other than Jonah Hill star opposite The Rock. The writer/director told our own Steve Weintraub as much during an interview at TIFF for Berg's film Deepwater Horizon, starring Mark Wahlberg. Berg's proven himself to be a competent and accomplished filmmaker over the years and Johnson's star has never burned brighter; to see Hill completing this trio would be a pure delight.


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Image via Universal

Here's what Berg had to say when Steve brought up The Rundown 2:

Do you foresee yourself taking a bit of a break or can I get you to do The Rundown 2?

 

BERG: We've been talking about it. You know, I wanted to do it with Kevin Hart and Dwayne Johnson. If I could get Jonah Hill, I'd do it tomorrow. If I could get Dwayne and Jonah Hill, I'd do it tomorrow.

 

Do you think that's even possible?

 

BERG: Anything's possible. We want to do it, it's just hard to get everybody, you know. It's on our minds. We actually wrote a script. But I want Jonah Hill, so reach out to Jonah. Pressure Jonah to do it. If Jonah Hill would do it, I'm in.

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Image via Universal Pictures

I'd love to know what's in that script: Will the team be heading back to the jungles of Brazil or to some new locale altogether? What role would Hill play in the sequel? We won't find out unless we get the word out!

If you'd love to see Berg return to direct Johnson in a sequel to The Rundown, and especially if you'd love to see Hill join the party, put some social media pressure on old Jonah. It's bound to be more effective than any online petition you've ever signed.

Update: The Rock's on board!

[EMBED_TWITTER]https://twitter.com/TheRock/status/776119291594706944[/EMBED_TWITTER]

In the meantime, Berg's Deepwater Horizon will open in theaters September 30th. His next film, currently in post-production, is Patriots Day, a dramatic retelling of the events of the Boston Marathon bombing, also starring Wahlberg. That film opens in limited release on December 21st before opening wide on January 13, 2017.


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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via Universal Pictures
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Image via Universal Pictures

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