One Extraction 2 Scene Subtly Sets The Stage For A Nik And Yaz Spin-Off
This post contains spoilers for "Extraction 2"
Ever since "Extraction" debuted on Netflix in 2020 and became the platform's biggest movie, we've been hearing about the various ways this particular IP will be milked for all its worth. Producers Joe Russo and his brother Anthony at one point revealed they had ambitions to establish some sort of "Extraction" shared universe before director Sam Hargrave made clear his plans for a trilogy of films focused on Chris Hemsworth merc-for-hire Tyler Rake.
Now, the exhausting and often dour "Extraction 2" has hit Netflix and seems to have made quite an impact. Prior to the sequel dropping, there was a question surrounding Rake's on-screen future, mainly because the first movie came out during the pandemic and Netflix was likely worried no one would watch the follow-up when they weren't stuck inside. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you feel about it) it seems we simply can't get enough of the Aussie mercenary, as within a day or two of "Extraction 2" arriving, Netflix announced that Tyler Rake will return in "Extraction 3."
And it looks as though those plans for a shared universe could also come to pass. Before "Extraction 2" was officially confirmed, there was talk of the film being a prequel rather than a sequel, which would expand Rake's backstory somewhat. However, as Hargrave previously revealed, he and his team simply couldn't leave the audience in suspense after Rake seemingly perished at the end of the first movie. Hence the sequel that was "Extraction 2." With that said, it looks as though we might still get some backstory in the form of a spin-off starring two of Rake's fellow mercenaries in the near future. Here's what we know.
'It's an easter egg'
In an interview for "Extraction 2," director Sam Hargrave revealed to Vulture that viewers seemed to like Golshifteh Farahani's private military contractor Nik Khan and her brother Yaz (Adam Bessa). As the filmmaker put it:
"Fans of the first movie really enjoyed Nik and Yaz. So we tried to give people a little more of them, and it was really important for us to show why someone as badass as Tyler Rake associates with these two people."
In "Extraction 2" Nik helps Tyler Rake rehabilitate himself before joining his mission to extract the family of a Georgian gangster from prison. Alongside Nik and Yaz, Rake brings Ketevan Radiani (Tinatin Dalakishvili) and her two children to safety, setting them up in a Vienna high-rise hotel. There, Nik who is at once a deadly private military contractor/soldier and compassionate, sensitive confidant, tries to reassure Ketevan, bringing her and her daughter food and offering these words of encouragement: "You survived. You kept your kids from harm and found a way with nothing, alone. I know what it feels like, I've been there. Everyone deserves a second chance."
And it seems this moment was about more than reinforcing Nik's humanity. Talking to Collider, Hargrave explained:
"That was a scene that was kind of in, it was out, but we left it in because one, it means multiple meanings; she's talking, yes, about the kid, but she's also talking about Rake, and she's also talking about the son. And we threw a line in there when she's kind of empathizing with the mom, and saying, 'I know what it feels like, I've been there,' and it's subtle, it's an Easter egg, but that's kind of hinting towards her and Yaz's own spin-off movie. So we're gonna get to follow them."
An Extraction spin-off prequel?
"Extraction 2" ended with Rake being recruited by Idris Elba's mysterious Alcott for an equally mysterious mission that will evidently see the unstoppable mercenary working for "a gnarly motherf***er," to use Alcott's phrase. But with Sam Hargrave confirming that a Nik and Yaz spin-off is very much on the table, it looks as though we'll be getting a lot more than another "Extraction" sequel. Or, to use Lionsgate Motion Picture Group chairman Joseph Drake's language from when he announced "John Wick 5" was in development, "you can rely on regular cadence" when it comes to Tyler Rake's on-screen universe.
That basically means people seem to be watching these "Extraction" movies, and Netflix sees dollar signs. And much like Lionsgate with the "John Wick" movies, the streamer will no doubt hit us with a cavalcade of Tyler Rake-related media until it hits Marvel Cinematic Universe levels of saturation.
Both "Extraction" and the sequel tried to infuse their all-out action with some heartfelt emotionality, mainly by having Rake haunted by the memory of losing his son to leukemia and dealing with the grief throughout both movies. But in "Extraction 2," Joe Russo poured on the tragedy by having poor old Yaz shot by Georgian crime lord Zurab (Tornike Gogrichiani) during his assault on the hotel and dying in the helicopter on the way out. That means if we do get the Yaz and Nik spin-off it will have to be some sort of prequel, which will no doubt delve deeper into, as Hargrave put it, "why someone as badass as Tyler Rake associates with these two people." But to be honest, the only thing the "Extraction" movies really have going for them are the frenetic action set-pieces, so I'm not sure how interesting a spin-off this will be.