'Extraction 2' Is Already In The Works; Could Be A Sequel Or A Prequel

After a record-setting debut on Netflix, the streamer is already moving forward with Extraction 2. Joe Russo, who penned the first Extraction, has closed a deal with Netflix to write a second installment in the new action franchise. But Russo teases that the follow-up to Extraction could be either a sequel or a prequel.

Deadline reports that Joe Russo has closed a deal to return to write the follow-up to Extraction, the Chris Hemsworth-starring action film helmed by first-time director Sam Hargrave. The film was a massive success for Netflix, earning Netflix's biggest opening day audience and is on track to become the streamer's most-viewed original film ever, per Netflix's new metrics. Extraction is projected to be watched by 90 million households over the next four weeks.

"The deal is closed for me to write Extraction 2, and we are in the formative stages of what the story can be," Russo told Deadline. "We're not committing yet to whether that story goes forward, or backward in time. We left a big loose ending that leaves question marks for the audience."

The ending left open the possibility for Hemsworth's mercenary-for-hire Tyler Rake to return, though Russo and Hargrave have both toyed with the idea of making the next installment a prequel rather than a sequel. In an interview with Collider, Hargrave revealed that he was interested in exploring an Extraction prequel where David Harbour and Hemsworth's characters team up. "There's a lot of potential; it's so interesting. And again, the beauty of an ambiguous ending is that there's a lot of ways you can go. You can go forwards or backwards. Either way you look on the timeline are very interesting stories."

Russo was vague on whether he was leaning either toward a prequel or a sequel, but he told Collider, "We've had the preliminary conversations. The question is: Does it all make sense? Can we find the right story to tell? Are we happy to go tell that? Does Sam want to tell that story? Does Chris want to tell that story? There's still a lot of work to be done."

Russo and his brother Anthony's company AGBO are working on bringing back the team for Extraction 2, and are optimistic that both Hargrave and Hemsworth will return, though that won't be set in stone until the script is ready.