Summary
- Anna Kendrick is interested in returning for a third film in the Accountant franchise.
- Bringing Kendrick back for closure would tie up the trilogy perfectly.
- Production challenges could hinder the third Accountant movie's development.
Someone get Warner Bros. And Amazon-MGM on the line... Anna Kendrick is ready to return for a third movie in one of her biggest hit franchises. It turns out, skipping the first sequel doesn't mean she is entirely done with the series.
Warner Bros. Brought The Accountant to theatres worldwide back in 2016, and the modestly-budgeted film became a pretty successful gambit for the distribution house. On a relatively scant production budget of $44 million, The Accountant grossed over $150 million worldwide and became a huge hit on the home video market as well. As such, it was only a matter of time before director Gavin O'Connor and star Ben Affleck returned for more action. While Amazon-MGM technically bought the distribution rights for the Accountant film series from Warner Bros. Pictures back in 2024, WB is still involved as the franchise's international distributor. Though the Academy Award-nominated Kendrick may not appear in the recently released The Accountant 2, hearing that she's interested in a third picture should get Amazon-MGM's ears burning.
The Accountant 2's Rotten Tomatoes Score Speaks Volumes About Ben Affleck's Belated Action Sequel
Nine years after the original, Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal's The Accountant 2's Rotten Tomatoes score promises good results.
During an interview he, Affleck, and screenwriter Bill Dubuque were giving to The New York Times about The Accountant 2, director Gavin O'Connor mentioned that Anna Kendrick is interested in returning for a third film in the series. "[S]he and I have been texting," O'Connor explained. "She said she’s a hundred percent in, if we want." The director went on to explain that bringing the Pitch Perfect star back would provide Affleck's Christian Wolff with "the love that he deserves."
"We're hoping she still likes us."
Bringing Anna Kendrick Back For A Third Accountant Movie Would Provide A Third Film With The Kind Of Closure It Needs
With The Accountant 2 focusing almost exclusively on Christian Wolff's relationship with his brother Braxton (played by Jon Bernthal), having Kendrick return as Dana Cummings would bring the trilogy full circle. If this does end up being the case for the third film, Affleck's Christian will have gone from a man who cuts all emotional ties out of his life in the first film, to learning how to open up in the second film, and finally finding love in the final one. It almost makes too much sense to actually work out.
For her part, Kendrick is no stranger to sequels. She starred in numerous Twilight films, was the face of the Pitch Perfect franchise, and is starring in this week's Another Simple Favor. It's not like Affleck and Bernthal are against serialized storytelling—we are talking about Batman and the Punisher, here—so fans will have to keep hoping all the stars align and get this threequel into a serious production cycle.
Even if O'Connor, Affleck, Bernthal, and Kendrick are hoping for a third film to come to fruition, that means nothing if production hell rears its ugly head. Look no further than Marvel Studios struggling to get a new Blade movie off the ground, despite having seemingly having everything in place, for evidence of how hard it can be to get an action movie made in Hollywood.
The Accountant 2 is currently showing in theatres worldwide.
Source: The New York Times