FRANCHISED - R-Rated Action Movies

Starting in the late ’80s and moving into the 1990s, we were in a golden age of R-Rated action movie franchises. Sylvester Stallone (WME) had two (confusingly titled) Rambo sequels to his name. Bruce Willis (CAA) had two Die Hard sequels. Mel Gibson (CAA) and Danny Glover (ICM|Principal Entertainment) were riding high on three Lethal Weapon movies. It’s hard exactly to pinpoint what changed, but the R-Rated action movie franchise fell out of favor as the ’90s turned to the 2000s. There were mini reboots of the above franchises, and there was, of course, The Matrix series, but nothing really stuck around. Stallone later tried to make The Expendables into a franchise, but it never quite caught on. Now, however, the R-Rated action franchise is coming back with a vengeance, AND it’s armed to the teeth with star power -- and it’s all thanks to 2014’s John Wick.
 
In 2014 Keanu Reeves (WME) starred in the stylish revenge thriller John Wick. It told the story of a retired hitman who comes back into the life after the death of his wife and the murder of his dog. Directed by former stuntmen Chad Stahelski (WME) and David Leitch (WME), the film had exhilarating action, an emotional intensity from Reeves in the title role, and an intriguing mythology regarding the criminal organizations and hired killers that populated the film. And it was absolutely stacked with great character actors – Ian McShane (ICM|Gallant), Willem Dafoe (CAA|Circle of Confusion), and John Leguizamo (UTA) all rounded out the supporting cast. John Wick was a huge hit – grossing $88 million worldwide on a $20 million budget. A sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2, followed two years later, and grossed $171 million worldwide off a $40 million budget. Even more character actors came on board, such as Laurence Fishburne (Paradigm|Landmark Artists) Common (CAA|Oasis Entertainment), and Ruby Rose (UTA|Art2perform).  
 
Off the franchise’s success, Starz put a TV series spinoff called The Continental into development, with writer/producer Chris Collins (UTA) attached to write the pilot and be showrunner. To top this all off, John Wick 3: Parabellum will be released next May. Similarly to the previous two installments, the cast is stacked with Ian McShane, Common, and Laurence Fishburne all reprising their roles, and bringing on Oscar winners Halle Berry (WME|Management 360) and Anjelica Huston (WME|Hamilton Hodel UK).
 
The success of the John Wick franchise clearly has kicked off an interest in R-Rated action movies – last summer’s Atomic Blonde, directed by Wick co-director David Leitch and starring Charlize Theron (WME), was intended to kick off a franchise. Next week’s Hotel Artemis, written and directed by Drew Pearce (WME), is clearly trying to emulate John Wick with its world and mythology for the criminal underground – and by attracting intriguing actors like Jodie Foster (ICM) and Jeff Goldblum (ICM|Industry Entertainment). This miniboom has brought Sylvester Stallone back to his Rambo character for another film, and he’s bringing back The Expendables for a fourth entry.
 
Here’s hoping this baby-trend of R-Rated action franchises will stick around for longer than a couple of years.