Guy Ritchie Directs Jake Gyllenhaal in Road House Sequel

Guy Ritchie is set to direct the sequel to Amazon MGM's 2024 remake of "Road House," with Jake Gyllenhaal reprising his role as Elwood Dalton, the ex-UFC fighter turned bouncer, according to Variety. The sequel was confirmed in May of the previous year, shortly after the successful March 2024 release of the remake, which garnered over 50 million views in its first two weekends on Prime Video, marking it as Amazon MGM Studios' most-watched produced film debut globally at that time.

The original 2024 "Road House" was directed by Doug Liman, known for films like "The Bourne Identity," "Edge of Tomorrow," and "Swingers." However, Liman expressed reluctance to return for the sequel after criticizing the decision to release the film directly on streaming platforms rather than in theaters. He stated, "My issue on Road House is that we made the movie for MGM to be in theaters, everyone was paid as if it was going to be in theaters, and then Amazon switched it on us and nobody got compensated. Forget about the effect on the industry — 50 million people saw Road House — I didn’t get a cent, Jake Gyllenhaal didn’t get a cent, [producer] Joel Silver didn’t get a cent. That’s wrong." In contrast, Gyllenhaal mentioned that Amazon had been clear from the start that "Road House" was intended for streaming.

"Road House 2" will be the third collaboration between Ritchie and Gyllenhaal, following their work on the 2023 war film "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant" for Amazon MGM and the upcoming action thriller "In the Grey," which also stars Henry Cavill, though it currently has no set release date.

Details about "Road House 2" are limited, but the screenplay is being penned by Will Beall, who has worked on projects like "Gangster Squad," "Bad Boys: Ride or Die," and "Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F."

Guy Ritchie remains busy, having directed several episodes of the newly launched Paramount+ series "MobLand," starring Tom Hardy, and his next film, "Fountain of Youth," is scheduled to premiere on Apple TV+ later this month.