Jake Gyllenhaal Returns, Liman’s Gone, and Ritchie’s On Hearth—Welcome to the Wild World of Highway House 2
There is no clear technique to say it: Highway House 2 is occurring, and Guy Ritchie—sure, that Guy Ritchie—is within the driver’s seat. The announcement seems like Hollywood’s model of “maintain my beer.” As a result of only a few weeks after Highway House bulldozed its approach into changing into Amazon’s most-watched authentic film debut (100 million viewers and counting), the studio hit the gasoline on a sequel.
Solely, there is a twist. Doug Liman, the person who directed the unique remake after which publicly torched Amazon’s launch technique in an op-ed, is out. And in his place? A filmmaker identified for stylized grit and manic pacing. If Liman constructed a brutalist home with brains, Ritchie is putting in neon lights and turning the bass as much as 11.
From Theater Snub to Streaming Big
Let’s rewind. Liman was furious about Highway House skipping theaters. He referred to as Amazon’s technique a betrayal, slamming the streamer for sacrificing cinematic artwork on the altar of Prime Video clicks. However here is the kicker—these clicks labored. The movie carried out like a protein shake-fueled algorithm: loud, dumb, and massively in style.
And therein lies the contradiction: Highway House did not want a crimson carpet. It wanted a sofa, a beer, and simply sufficient irony to let Jake Gyllenhaal’s shredded, smirking Dalton rip throats with a wink.
Now Guy Ritchie’s stepping in with a writing help from Will Beall (Gangster Squad), and that raises an eyebrow or three.
How Many Ritchies Is Too Many?
In case you misplaced monitor, Ritchie is in every single place. The person’s been cranking out movies like he is on a cinematic bender—5 within the final 4 years, with three extra reportedly arriving this 12 months (Fountain of Youth, Spouse & Canine, and Within the Gray). Oh, and there is Mobland, his new sequence for Paramount+, now streaming.
He is not simply booked and busy. He is hyperproductive in a approach that implies both inventive obsession or an unstated wager with Michael Bay.
Nonetheless, he is no stranger to macho mayhem. That is the director who made Snatch really feel like Shakespeare with brass knuckles. Besides, this Highway House 2 gig feels… odd. Ritchie’s sensibilities—fast cuts, snarky dialogue, morally grey antiheroes—would possibly mesh completely with Gyllenhaal’s wink-wink Dalton. Or it’d implode into self-parody.
Both approach, the consequence will not be refined.
The Liman Fallout: Sample or Pivot?
This is not the primary time a director has bailed over distribution. Keep in mind when Christopher Nolan left Warner Bros. over Tenet‘s pandemic launch? Or when Denis Villeneuve raged in opposition to the streaming of Dune? Hollywood’s theatrical vs. streaming debate is not simply alive—it is a bloodsport.
However Liman’s public breakup with Amazon was notably scorched-earth. “They lied,” he wrote. Not implied. Not alluded to. He went full Outdated Testomony. And now, Amazon has executed what huge studios all the time do when there’s drama: changed the idealist with the pragmatist.
Solely time will inform whether or not that was good or cynical. Most likely each.
So What’s Highway House 2 Truly About?
No plot particulars but. Simply affirmation that Jake Gyllenhaal is again, and presumably so are the abs. Conor McGregor’s return hasn’t been confirmed, however do not be shocked if he exhibits up yelling, sweating, and presumably shirtless.
What we do know is that the sequel will doubtless double down on the identical huge, dumb, brawny power that made the primary a success. The irony? That is precisely why Liman hated what it grew to become.
This is the uncomfortable fact: Highway House did not want imaginative and prescient—it wanted quantity. And if Guy Ritchie is aware of something, it is the right way to flip the amount approach up.
Would you pay to see Highway House 2 in theaters—or is that this sequel proper the place it belongs? Drop your take within the feedback.