When it comes to the Russo brothers, every project they’re attached to is automatically a must-watch that has fans eager to check out. That’s why they get asked about multiple titles whenever they make a public appearance, and in the world premiere of Prime Video series Citadel in London it wasn’t any different. During the event, Joe and Anthony Russo talked to our own Editor-in-Chief Steve Weintraub, and shared some information about a highly anticipated action movie starring Chris Hemsworth: Extraction 2.
During the interview, the Russos were kind enough to confirm one important piece of information that has been circling around for a while now. At this point, we know that Extraction 2 will go bigger and more ambitious than the first one, but how exactly? The wildly different setting is one element: this time, the movie will this time take place in a colder and darker environment. The sibling directors confirmed that one particular scene that will help keep the movie thrilling is a 14-minute continuous take. While the finished product may not clock in at exactly fourteen minutes, Joe Russo did confirm, "I haven't got out the stopwatch, but that seems pretty accurate." The specifics of the oner are still being kept under wraps, but Joe alluded to the fact that it "may" involve a helicopter.
Extraction 2: The Wonder of the Oner
As you may know, continuous takes are a way of keeping a viewer’s eyes glued to the screen as they are given the sensation that there is no room to breathe. A continuous take is also another way of better simulating a real-life event, since in life there are hardly any “cuts.” Last but not least, a “oner” is also the result of hard work from the production team, and demands exhausting rehearsals because there can be no mistakes while filming. So, the longer it is, the more difficult it was to get made.
The oner in Extraction 2 was teased in the first trailer, which shows Tyler Rake (Hemsworth) struggling to protect a woman in the middle of a chaotic prison riot with police officers and convicts. In the 2-minute trailer, we’re able to see that the sequence will have snow, grenades, fire, bricks, and the main character punching people with his fist ablaze—and that seems to be only the beginning. The sequence mirrors the first movie’s impressive 12-minute one-take shot, which takes us through a car chase, inside a building with multiple fight sequences, and shooting guns all around. Even though it seems like the Extraction 2 oner will outdo the original by two minutes, Joe Russo confessed that he wasn’t obsessed with looking at the stopwatch.
Extraction 2 is once again directed by Sam Hargrave, with a screenplay by Joe Russo. Aside from Hemsworth, the cast also features Golshifteh Farahani (Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales), Adam Bessa (Mosul), Olga Kurylenko (Black Widow), Tinatin Dalakishvili (The Undeclared War), Andro Jafaridze, Miriam and Marta Kovziashvili and Daniel Bernhardt (John Wick).
Netflix premieres Extraction 2 on June 16. You can watch the trailer below: