When you think about comic book movies, what often comes to mind areMarveltitles likeThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsand the newSupermanmovie. You can even think about lesser-known titles likeHellboyandConstantine, but your mind will rarely float towards a movie likeRED 2. The action-comedy flick was first released in 2013, and if you remember nothing about it — or if it simply flew off your radar — you will have an excellent opportunity to watch it next month. The movie is debuting for free on VIZIO+ on August 1.
The story of theREDfranchise is uncommon but extremely entertaining. It follows a group of retired CIA agents who are forced back into action when old enemies start to resurface. The story isbased on a comic book seriescreated byWarren EllisandCully Hamner, which was originally published by the DC imprint Homage Comics. The three-issue comic was released in the early aughts, and the movie adaptation happened fairly early withJonandErich Hoeberhandling the screenplay for both movies.
The duo of screenwriters managed to attract an all-star cast for the adaptation. It was led byBruce Willis(Assassin),Morgan Freeman(Lioness),Helen Mirren(MobLand) andJohn Malkovich(Opus). The sequel also featuredMary-Louise Parker(The Institute),Catherine-Zeta Jones(Wednesday),Lee Byung-hun(Squid Game),Neal McDonough(The Last Rodeo),David Thewlis(Sherlock & Daughter),Brian Cox(Succession), andAnthony Hopkins(Mary). The sequel was directed byDean Parisot(Bill & Ted Face the Music).
Will There Ever Be a ‘Red 3’?
Despite itsless-than-stellar 44% Rotten Tomatoes score,RED 2was popular among fans, landing a slightly better audience score of 63%. In theaters, the movie managed to rake in $148 million globally, bringing the franchise overall box office performance to almost $350 million worldwide — an excellent number when you factor in that it was an IP that most part of the audience had never heard about. Not by chance,a third installment went into development almost immediatelyafterRed 2premiered. However, a year later the Hoeber brothers announced that a TV series was being developed instead. This was a decade ago, and fans received no news ever since.
Even ifRED 3or theREDTV series happens, though, they will have to move on without Bruce Willis, whoannounced his retirementback in 2022 due to his health. Ever since then, the Hoeber Brothers worked on the script of mega-blockbusters likeBattleship,Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, andThe Meg.
RED 2becomes available to stream for free on VIZIO+ as early as August 1.
