Extraction was a big success for Netflix earlier this year. Released back in April (remember April?), the action thriller from uber-producers Joe and Anthony Russo starring Chris Hemsworth as a grizzled mercenary quickly became the most-watched original film in the streamer’s history. The Russo Brothers announced their plans for a sequel (or prequel?) a month later, and now we finally have an update on the status of Extraction 2 as well as potential future installments.
During The Russo Brothers' CCXP panel moderated by Collider's Steve Weintraub, the blockbuster filmmakers spoke about current and upcoming projects being developed by their AGBO production banner, including their plans for the Extraction franchise. Joe Russo was reluctant to give specific details, but he did shed a great deal of light on what they have in mind:
“I’m still not gonna commit because I think it’s more exciting to surprise people, but I will say this: we are working at building out a universe of films that could potentially explore some of the other characters from the first movie and some new characters, and see more historical interaction between the characters. So if you’re interested in David Harbour’s character, you just may get to see him in a future Extraction movie.”
After watching David Harbour suplex Hemsworth through a table in the original film, I am 100% interested in seeing more of his character. Extraction director Sam Hargrave and Joe Russo discussed the possibility of a prequel and their excitement over the chemistry between Harbour and Hemsworth in a previous interview with Collider's Steve Weintraub, including detailing the backstory they had created for the two characters. The idea of a film in which Harbour and Hemsworth get to pal around and go on some wild mission together has raised my hype levels to near-uncontrollable degrees. Joe Russo continued with some more intriguing info, indicating they are planning to apply their MCU magic to the world of Extraction:
“We’re trying to find more interesting ways to tell these stories and cross-pollinate them. We’re big fans of just forging new paths in narrative. Can we go backwards and forwards at the same time? Can things that happened in the past affect the movies in the present? What are new ways to tell those stories? And can we see different points of view? Every antagonist is the protagonist in their own story, so can we see their point of view? How do they perceive the world? What makes them empathetic? I think what makes that a compelling element to the Extraction universe is it is a global franchise telling global stories, and we’d like to diversify the point of view in those movies.”
One of the more interesting elements of the first film was seeing the story play out from the point of view of both Hemsworth’s character and the villain’s chief henchman (Randeep Hooda). It sounds like the Russos intend to keep exploring this avenue of storytelling, which could produce some engaging drama to balance out the hardcore action. Finally, Joe Russo gave an update on when they expect to start filming Extraction 2, which will see Hemsworth return as Tyler Rake:
“The intention is to start rolling cameras on Extraction 2 sometime next fall. Chris is a busy guy so we have to figure out his schedule, but that’s the intent at the moment.”
If shooting begins in fall 2021 as the Russos intend, that means Extraction 2 likely won’t be released until late 2022 at the earliest. That’s an agonizingly long time for us to wait to see how many children Hemsworth fights this time around, but judging by the high-octane awesomeness of the first film, it’ll be worth the wait.
Click here for all our previous Extraction coverage.