Becoming the single most popular original movie in the history of the largest and most heavily-subscribed streaming service on the planet is an impressive accolade, but the team behind Red Notice don’t plan on stopping there.
Uniting A-list megastars Dwayne Johnson, Ryan Reynolds, and Gal Gadot to headline a $200 million globetrotting heist caper packed with action and witty banter was always guaranteed to find massive success, but Rawson Marshall Thurber’s blockbuster bonanza wasn’t exactly showered in unanimous praise.
A 36 percent Rotten Tomatoes score is about par for the course when it comes to Netflix’s in-house exclusives, but the critical apathy was generously offset by a 92 percent audience score. The target audience was very happy with what they got, then, so it wasn’t a shock when the streamer announced that back-to-back sequels were in development.
Trying to wrangle the schedules of the three incredibly busy leads is no easy task, but in an interview with Collider, producer Beau Flynn teased that things are coming along nicely on the development front.
“Well, we have a Red Notice 2 script and almost 3. The plan is hopefully if Hiram and I have of our way that we would make those movies back to back. But it’s going to be all about the scripts and how we feel and how Dwayne, Gal, and Ryan feel about them. But that franchise is a blast and obviously Netflix really wants it, and Rawson is committed.”
Adding even more fuel to the speculative fire, longtime Johnson associate Hiram Garcia confirmed that talks are always ongoing, so perhaps a major announcement is closer than we think.
“Yeah, Rawson is working away and we were just talking to him about it the other day. He’s deep in it and that’s his baby. So, he’s grinded away. We’re excited to be able to get into it and see a new draft that he’s about to deliver us to us very soon.”
Red Notice did exactly what it was created to do, but the prospect of another two adventures doesn’t generate much enthusiasm among the detractors based on how lackluster the opener was. Fans are already more than on board, though, so let’s hope that the increase in quantity is matched by an uptick in quality.