Back in 2013, Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s long-awaited team-up (“The Expendables” films don’t count because they’re a team-up of everyone who’s anyone in the action genre), action-packed, futuristic prison-break thrill-ride “Escape Plan” was a surprise hit when it was released in cinemas, grossing over $137 million on a modest $50 million budget.
“Escape Plan” didn’t do so well in North America, which is surprising considering the all-American star power, so a sequel didn’t really seem to be on the cards, but it did really well overseas, especially in China, so a sequel’s on, and casting has begun.
Actors cast so far include 50 Cent and Dave Bautista
Casting has begun for “Escape Plan 2,” and the humungous Dave Bautista has joined Stallone and Schwarzenegger in the ensemble. Bautista, a famed wrestler, MMA fighter, and bodybuilder, has been taking the movie world by storm recently, playing henchman Hinx in the 007 hit “Spectre” (which sucked), Drax the Destroyer in “Guardians of the Galaxy,” the sequel to which is coming out in April, also to reprise the role in “Avengers: Infinity War” right afterwards, and a role in the upcoming “Blade Runner” sequel, which is being released this October.
Rapper Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson is reprising his role from the first “Escape Plan” as Hush, while Jaime King (best known for her roles in “Sin City,” “White Chicks,” and The CW’s “Hart of Dixie”) will be replacing Amy Ryan (the US remake of “The Office”) in the role of Abigail Ross.
Exactly why Ryan isn’t taking the role herself has yet to be seen.
New director, same writer
The sequel, preliminarily titled “Escape Plan 2,” will be directed by Steven C. Miller, who hasn’t done many high-profile movies yet, except for a little-known heist thriller last year starring Bruce Willis called “Marauders,” but he has some promising other movies coming up, like “The Damaged,” a drama in which Jonathan Banks (who has also co-written the script) plays one of two hitmen on a tumultuous road trip, and “First Kill,” another thriller about a bank heist starring Bruce Willis (so, the guy’s clearly got some real range).
Miles Chapman, the screenwriter who wrote the first “Escape Plan,” is returning to script this new instalment. He also has another script in development, “Protection,” about a lecturer who takes on the Witness Protection Program in the search for his missing wife and daughter.
“Escape Plan 2” is set to be released in cinemas worldwide (especially worldwide, given its international appeal) sometime next year, with shooting beginning within the next couple of months.
