Summary
Jake Gyllenhaal is returning in the action thrillerRoad House 2. However, another director will helm the sequel.Road House,released in 2024, is an action-packed reimagining of the 1989 cult classic. The film was directed by Doug Liman and starred Gyllenhaal as Elwood Dalton, a former UFC fighter hired as a bouncer at a roadhouse in the Florida Keys who uncovered a web of corruption and violence in the area.
The film, exclusively available onAmazon PrimeVideo, received mixed reviews from critics. While many loved Gyllenhaal’s performance, some felt it was overly violent. It was also criticized for using CGI in its fight scenes. Aside from these issues, the director was at odds with the streaming giant regarding the film’s release strategy. The two parties have seemingly not resolved their issues because Liman will not return for the sequel.
Guy Ritchie will take over the director’s chair forRoad House 2. Ritchie is known for the mystery adventureSherlock Holmes(2010) starringRobert Downey Jr.and Jude Law, action-comedyThe Gentlemen(2019), action war adventureGuy Ritchie’s The Covenant(2023), action war dramaThe Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare(204), and the heist action adventure filmFountain of Youth(2025). Ritchie being hired to direct the anticipated sequel followed Liman’s public feud with Amazon, Entertainment Weekly reported. Gyllenhaal will return to star and produce the film. The details for the next film have been kept under wraps. However, it might be set in a new location after Dalton left the Florida Keys. Also, Conor McGregor might return to reprise his role as the psychotic enforcer, Knox, because the mid-credits scene showed him surviving after his fight with Dalton and escaping the hospital.
Liman’s conflict withAmazonwas due to their differences about the movie’s release. The director wantedRoad Houseto have a theatrical release. However, Amazon opted for a streaming-only debut on Prime Video.Road Housewas a success for the streaming platform. It garnered over 80 million viewers and broke records as the most-watched film debut for Amazon MGM worldwide. However, Liman wasn’t impressed because when they filmed the movie, he intended for it to be released in theaters. He even threatened to boycott its premiere as a protest. The director appeared onYouTuber Casey Neistatbefore the premiere and explained that they intended the film for “the big screen” and even shot it using IMAX cameras. He referenced Bloomberg’s headline mentioning Amazon’s decision to invest $1 billion in movies for theaters every year, but Liman said, “Amazon never had any intention of putting it in theaters.” He added that several filmmakers were “promised a theatrical release and then their films were dumped on streaming. "
Having a new director to helm theRoad Housesequel wasn’t surprising. Liman’s conflict with Amazon was so public and he said unflattering words against the streaming platform. However, he eventually changed his mind and attended its premiere at South bySouthwest (SXSW) Film & TV Festival. In the same interview, he explained that he did everything to getRoad Houseinto theaters, but he lost. So, if the premiere was the only screening where people would buy tickets to see the film, he wanted to be there. The filmmaker admitted that he hated losing, but this was the case forRoad Hose. “I have very publicly lost here,” Liman confessed. It was an unfortunate thing, of course, filmmakers prefer to see their work on big screens. However, it probably was just a misunderstanding because Gyllenhaal said that Amazon was clear from the beginning that the project was set for streaming.
