The Big Picture

Ben Affleck and J.K. Simmons are returning for
The Accountant
sequel, with pre-production starting next week.
Director Gavin O’Connor always had a vision for a sequel, and the script was written by Bill Dubuque.
The determination of Affleck, O’Connor, and Dubuque has finally led to the sequel being made after years of effort.

Last week, it was announced that a sequel to 2016’s The Accountant was finally happening when Amazon MGM confirmed that Ben Affleck would be returning as Christian Wolff, the titular numbers man with a proclivity for assassination on the side. Affleck partnered with best friend Matt Damon to purchase the rights to the sequel from Warner Bros. through their production company Artists Equity.

Also returning for the follow-up is J.K. Simmons as Ray King, who is the Director of Financial Crimes at the Treasury Department. King is a seasoned and determined government official who becomes interested in Wolff, due to Wolff’s ties to various criminal enterprises through his accounting work. While promoting his role in Invincible Season 2, Part 2, Simmons sat down with Collider’s Nate Richard where he was asked about his role in the sequel, and what the state of play was. Simmons confirmed that pre-production and shooting would begin next week.

“Yeah, I head to LA in a little over a week to do some rehearsals and pre-production and start shooting my chunk of it. I’m not even sure,
I think they start early next week
, because then I’m in the week after and doing my supporting thing.”

Who Is Directing ‘The Accountant 2’?

Simmons went on to reveal that, even when the first film was in the process of being made, director Gavin O’Connor had a vision for a sequel story that would follow Affleck’s character. He praised the determination of Affleck and O’Connor for making it happen, and Simmons couldn’t hide his enthusiasm for the script, which has also been written by Bill Dubuque, creator of Ozark on Netflix.

“There was a plan for a possible sequel at the very beginning. I mean, not a “plan” plan, not a story, but that was always a possibility, and thanks to Gavin O’Connor and Ben Affleck for really being determined to make it happen,” said Simmons. “As I’m sure you know, that movie did well in theaters, but then it’s had a really, really popular resurgence in the last few years in streaming.” He went on to add:

“It’s just such great characters, and such a great story. I’m glad they worked their butts off, and now are with a different studio and finally making it work. A lot of us are going to be back, and [I’m] really, really looking forward to my contribution to that, and to the movie itself. It’s really good.
Bill Dubuque did the script with Gavin obviously, and Ben’s input.
It’s the same with
Invincible
, obviously it’s a team game, but those three guys particularly have really been behind this for 7-8 years now, and finally it’s coming to fruition and I’m really excited about it.”

There is currently no release date for The Accountant 2. Invincible Season 2 Part 2 has begun streaming on Prime Video now. Check out our review here.

Stay tuned to Collider for updates on The Accountant 2. The first movie is currently streaming on Max in the U.S.

The Accountant As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities, and the body count starts to rise.Release Date October 14, 2016 Runtime 128 Minutes Writers Bill Dubuque

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