Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson's Hitman's Bodyguard Sequel Gets Release Date

Ryan Reynolds is a man that could probably use some extra time sleeping, or perhaps even a clone. The multi-hyphenate now has two big movies opening next year, with his second major film finally getting a release date. Lionsgate and Millennium announced today that the upcoming The Hitman's Wife's Bodyguard, the sequel to the surprise hit from 2017, will be released on August 28, 2020. Currently no other film is scheduled to open on August 28 against the action-comedy sequel.

Though August isn't always the best sign for release during summer movie season, the original film opened ahead of the Labor Day weekend when it was released and managed to gross $177 million worldwide ($75 million of it domestically) against a reported budget of $30 million. This strategy will likely be a fruitful one for the studio once again though it will have to face off against the highly-anticipated Bill & Ted Face the Music which will be in its second weekend of release at the time. The sequel will be Reynolds' second major film of the year following the release of his other action-comedy, Free Guy, which debuts on July 3.

Reynolds will star alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, and Richard E. Grant in the film with newcomers to the cast including Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, and Frank Grillo. Patrick Hughes returned to the director's chair for the follow-up, working from script once again penned by Tom O'Connor.

The Hitman's Bodyguard followed Michael Bryce (Reynolds), a former top-notch bodyguard who fell on hard times after an important person was killed on his watch. He is eventually recruited to guard a notorious hitman, Darius Kincaid (Jackson), who agrees to testify in an important trial in exchange for his wife (Hayek) to get released from prison.

It's currently unclear what roles Freeman and Banderas are taking on, however, Grillo is expected to play an Interpol agent who seeks out the help of Reynolds, Jackson, and Hayek's characters to prevent a cyber attack on Europe.

(H/T The Hollywood Reporter)