Ben Affleck's The Accountant 2 Shifts to Amazon MGM Studios

The sequel to Ben Affleck's The Accountant has been in the works for years, and while the original film was released by Warner Bros., The Hollywood Reporter has revealed that the upcoming sequel has shifted and will now be developed by Amazon Studios. According to the outlet, The Accountant 2 was initially being approached as an opportunity to expand the HBO Max brand, though its future was complicated when David Zaslav entered the fray and began finding ways to cut the studio's costs. Additionally, the outlet claims that the official deal was made during last year's writers' and actors' strikes. 

Ben Affleck, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson are all returning for the follow-up, though original star Anna Kendrick is reportedly sitting out a return. Director Gavin O'Connor and writer Bill Dubuque are also back on board for the sequel.

The upcoming sequel is described, "When her former boss is killed by unknown assassins, Treasury Agent Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson) is forced to contact Christian Wolff (Affleck) to solve the murder. With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax (Bernthal), Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draws the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive -- all intent on putting a stop to their search."

Back in 2021, O'Connor teased that the sequel would lean more heavily on family dynamics than the first entry, while also teasing that the concept could become a trilogy.

"I've always wanted to do three because the second one's going to be more with -- we're going to integrate his brother into the story," O'Connor shared with CinemaBlend. "So there'll be more screen time for Bernthal in the second one. And then the third movie's going to be, I call it, 'Rain Man on steroids.' The third movie is going to be the two brothers, this odd couple. The third one is going be a buddy picture."

With the film set to start shooting this year, this behind-the-scenes shift will ignite questions about whether the film will get a theatrical release and then premiere on Prime Video shortly after or if it will possibly be a Prime Video exclusive. Stay tuned for updates on The Accountant 2.

Are you looking forward to the sequel? Let us know in the comments!