The Accountant 2 Trailer Teams Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal as Brutal Brothers

Ahead of its premiere in theaters this April, the first trailer for The Accountant 2 has been released online. The preview provides an overview of the basic plot, as Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) is called upon to aid authorities in their investigation of Ray King’s (J.K. Simmons) murder. When Ray was killed, he had the message “find the accountant” written on his arm, so Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) seeks Christian out to ask for his help. Realizing that the job is too big to handle on his own, Christian recruits his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal) to assist him in uncovering what happened to Ray.

The footage highlights Affleck and Bernthal’s chemistry, teasing what seems like a buddy cop dynamic between Christian and Braxton. Additionally, viewers get a taste of the film’s hard-hitting action sequences that are reminiscent of the standout set pieces in the original movie. Watch the trailer in the space above.

Affleck and Bernthal were confirmed to return for The Accountant 2 back in 2021, but the film has taken years to come to fruition; principal photography didn’t commence until March 2024. During development, The Accountant 2 shifted from Warner Bros. (the studio that distributed the first film) to Amazon.

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In January, Amazon announced its release plans for The Accountant 2. The film will have its world premiere at this year’s SXSW Film Festival on March 8th before opening in theaters on April 25th. Notably, The Accountant 2 is an exclusive theatrical release; when Amazon secured distribution rights, there was some question of whether or not it would go straight to streaming on Prime.

The Accountant, which was released back in 2016, earned mixed reviews, though it did earn praise for Affleck’s committed turn as the autistic Christian Wolff and its action sequences. The film now has a loyal following, and it’ll be interesting to see how people respond to the sequel. The Accountant 2 is shining a spotlight on Christian and Braxton’s dynamic with the siblings responsible for moments of humor and drama. There are bits of levity scattered throughout the trailer highlighting the brothers’ mismatched personalities, but Christian and Braxton also appear to have some heartfelt conversations about their relationship to give the film a solid emotional core. Even if The Accountant 2 doesn’t reinvent the wheel as a slick action film, those elements should help it tell a well-rounded story punctuated by engaging performances.

It’s nice to see Amazon is giving The Accountant 2 its time to shine in theaters. The original film was a decent draw, grossing $155.5 million worldwide against a $44 million production budget. Though April sees the release of some other high-profile projects (like Ryan Coogler’s Sinners), there’s potential for The Accountant 2 to have a lucrative theatrical run of its own. It will have to contend with the arrival of Marvel’s Thunderbolts* shortly after its premiere, but The Accountant 2 could emerge as a possible counterprogramming option for older moviegoers at the outset of the summer movie season. Affleck’s Air, which was also released by Amazon, grossed $90 million worldwide, so the studio is probably hoping for something similar here.