Law Abiding Citizen Is Getting A Law Abiding Sequel
A Gerard Butler-led vigilante thriller is getting a sequel over a decade after its release: Village Roadshow Pictures has announced it's working on a follow-up to 2009's "Law Abiding Citizen."
If you've forgotten about "Law Abiding Citizen" amidst the onslaught of similar Butler-led films since, you're not alone, but we'll refresh your memory. The film stars the "Olympus Has Fallen" actor as a family man named Clyde Shelton, who transforms into a cartoonishly twisted and nihilistic killer after his family is murdered in front of him.
The plot starts off like a typical revenge thriller, with Butler out for blood when one of the murderers slips through the cracks of the criminal justice system. Soon, though, "Law Abiding Citizen" turns Clyde into a deeply sadistic villain who tortures the criminal before MacGyvering together a bunch of "Saw"-like traps intended to kill members of the criminal justice system even after he gets put behind bars.
Revenge is a dish best served again 13 years later
While Clyde dies at the end of "Law Abiding Citizen," the man whom he saw as partly responsible for his troubles, prosecutor Nick Rice (Jamie Foxx), makes it to the closing credits unharmed. As of yet, it's unclear whether or not the new film will see any of the original actors reprise their roles, although Butler is set to produce. The original film's screenwriter, Kurt Wimmer (2012's "Total Recall"), is also set to return (no director has been announced). "The Fate of the Furious" filmmaker F. Gary Gray directed the first film.
"Law Abiding Citizen" made good enough box office returns but was a critical failure, thanks in part to its bizarre twists and leaps in logic. While our own Chris Evangelista recently said the movie is a decently enjoyable film, it didn't exactly seem like audiences were chomping at the bit for a sequel. Yet "Law Abiding Citizen" apparently did great viewership numbers when it came to Netflix last December, and the team behind the sequel are clearly confident in the new film's vision.
Wrap Films' Lucas Foster, who is producing, said the following in a press release:
"I am delighted to partner with Rob [Paris], Mike [Witherill] and Village Roadshow Pictures, together with my frequent creative partner Kurt Wimmer, to revisit these great characters and this compelling topic which seems even more relevant today than when we made the original film. We're going to blow your mind ... again."
The "Law Abiding Citizen" sequel will come from Village Roadshow Pictures and Rivulet Films, with Alan Siegel, Tristen Tuckfield, and Jillian Apfelbaum set to produce alongside Paris, Witherill, Foster, Butler, and Wimmer.