Summary

• The long-awaited sequel to The Accountant is finally being filmed this year, and has landed at Amazon.
• Director Gavin O'Connor plans for Jon Bernthal to have a larger role in The Accountant 2, and has ideas for a potential third installment.
• The sequel will continue the story following the explosive events of the first film, which was released in 2016.

According to a new report, the highly anticipated action sequel, The Accountant 2, has now landed at Amazon with both Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal confirmed to return. As per a report by Variety, which details several major projects that will benefit from 2024 production tax incentives through California’s Film and Television Tax Credit Program, The Accountant 2 has now secured such an incentive and is being developed by Amazon MGM Studios.

Other movies that will benefit include Mercy starring Chris Pratt, untitled projects from Disney, 20th Studios and New Regency Productions, and the Star Wars spinoff The Mandalorian and Grogu.

“The array of film projects announced today demonstrates California’s enduring attraction for storytellers. These productions, spanning big-budget features to indie films, not only infuse millions into our economy but also showcase our state’s talent and versatility,” said Colleen Bell, CFC’s executive director. “We’re proud to welcome these projects, highlighting California’s resilience and continued prominence in the film industry.”

The long-awaited sequel to the 2016 action thriller The Accountant will finally film this year, according to an earlier report by Deadline. Following reports that star Ben Affleck will reunite with his friend and frequent collaborator Matt Damon, it has been revealed that “Netflix was quick to board in order to meet Affleck’s busy schedule” which includes his return as accountant-slash-assassin Christian Wolff in The Accountant 2. This major update comes following the recent listing on Productionlist.com, which shows that The Accountant 2 now has a “shoot date” of March 15, 2024. All of which strongly suggests that a sequel following Ben Affleck as Christian Wolff is finally on the cards.

Not much else is yet known about The Accountant 2, but the follow-up will no doubt pick up with Affleck’s character following the explosive events of the first outing. Released back in 2016 and directed by Gavin O'Connor, The Accountant follows Affleck as Christian Wolff, a certified public accountant with autism who has an affinity for numbers and makes his living manipulating the books of criminal and terrorist organizations around the world that are experiencing internal embezzlement. As Wolff gets closer to the truth about a discrepancy that involves millions of dollars, the body count starts to rise as Christian reveals himself to be just as good at killing as he is at accountancy.

Written by Bill Dubuque and directed by O'Connor, The Accountant stars Ben Affleck, Anna Kendrick, J.K. Simmons, Jon Bernthal, Jeffrey Tambor, and John Lithgow. It was a big hit at the box office when it was released so a sequel seemed all but inevitable.

Affleck’s new project with Matt Damon, meanwhile, is titled Animals and will revolve “around a kidnapping.” Beyond that, not much else is known about the plot, but the project will see Damon take the lead under the direction of Affleck, who has of course helmed such critically acclaimed projects as The Town, Gone Baby Gone, Argo, and Air.

Ben Affleck & Jon Bernthal Will Return for The Accountant 2

There has been word of the filmmakers getting a sequel launched since 2017, but progress has been slow since then. In a major update on its status, director Gavin O'Connor said back in 2021 that a deal has been finalized, meaning that The Accountant 2 is apparently happening for real. Unfortunately for fans of The Way Back, the director also confirmed at the time that that movie would not be getting a sequel, unlike The Accountant. From CinemaBlend's ReelBlend podcast:

"There will not be a Way Back sequel, but we are doing an Accountant sequel. We literally just closed that deal. We're doing The Accountant again."

Better yet, O'Connor revealed that the plan is for Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal to both return to reprise their roles from the first movie. In the original, Bernthal's character Braxton is revealed to be the long lost brother to Affleck's Christian, so it's expected he will play a much bigger role in The Accountant 2. Along with his plan to do the first sequel, O'Connor also says he has ideas for the third installment, and The Accountant 2 will be developed with The Accountant 3 in mind. As the filmmaker explains:

"Yeah. Yeah. So, I've always wanted to do three because what, the second one's going to be more with -- we're going to integrate his brother into the story. 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."

In 2019, Affleck also addressed the possibility of a sequel in a Collider interview, though he wasn't quite sure it would end up happening. At that time, he made it clear that he's open to revisiting that role in a sequel, noting how much he enjoyed working with O'Connor. He also said how they spoke about possible directions on where to take the next movie.

"Yeah, I hope so. I would love to," Affleck said when asked if the sequel was happening. "We've talked about kicking some ideas around, this last movie we just did [Torrance]. We talked to the studio and they seemed interested, and they kind of brought it up so, we're looking to do that. I think it would be fun. I love Gavin, I love the movie I just did with him. I had a great experience and I love the character in The Accountant. I'd certainly be open to it."

While we may not yet know much else about the direction of The Accountant 2, the idea of seeing more from Affleck and Bernthal in the sequel is hopefully enough for now.