Atomic Blonde 2 was put in the works a little while after the Charlize Theron-led original came out in 2017. However, production on the sequel still hasn’t begun, and director David Leitch has clarified what’s causing the delay.
A rights issue is causing Atomic Blonde 2’s delay, says director
Leitch, who also produced the first John Wick movie, directed Atomic Blonde and has been involved with its sequel as well. Produced on a budget of $30 million, the film became a box office success grossing a scooch over $100 million worldwide. But its sequel still hasn’t come out due to being stuck in a rights issue.
Netflix acquired the rights to Atomic Blonde 2 in 2020, and the sequel was said to be produced as a Netflix original. But speaking with The Direct at John Wick’s 10th-anniversary celebration event, Leitch detailed the behind-the-scenes struggles pushing Atomic Blonde 2 back.
The director said, “Everyone’s still trying to unravel rights issues, and it had traveled from Universal to Netflix for a bit.” He continued, “And then now it’s become a little bit of a bottleneck of too many forces working against each other to try and get it made, because it’s such a great piece of IP and would be amazing to go back and revisit that world and that character. So, hopefully we can get it done…”
Previously, the writer of Atomic Blonde, Kurt Johnstad told CinemaBlend that the first film was the beginning of a potential trilogy. So, fans could at least expect one sequel set in the Atomic Blonde universe, if not more.
Set in November 1989, the film starred Charlize Theron as an undercover MI6 agent named Lorraine Broughton. Following her mission in Berlin, multiple questions were left unanswered by the movie’s end. One of those was about where Broughton’s loyalty really lies. So, when Atomic Blonde 2 happens, it could clear things up on that end while pitting Theron’s Broughton against a new enemy.
