Everything We Know About Atomic Blonde 2 So Far
What do you get when you take the brutal fight choreography from "John Wick," the seductively roguish charms of James Bond, and wrap it all in a Cold War-era period piece? We have to imagine that was pretty much the gist of the (awesome-sounding) pitch for "Atomic Blonde," the 2017 action/thriller from David Leitch. Based on the 2012 graphic novel "The Coldest City," "Atomic Blonde" immediately made waves for featuring a bisexual female lead in a role that could've easily gone to exactly the same sort of leading men who've owned this genre for decades.
After attaining a solid performance at the box office for a movie of its subject matter, budget, and rating, calls for a sequel came fast and furious. So it seems like it's only a matter of time and scheduling before we finally receive the long-awaited sequel. But what have we heard about "Atomic Blonde 2" so far?
When and Where to Watch Atomic Blonde 2
"Atomic Blonde" enjoyed a perfectly normal theatrical release back in 2017, long before we had to worry about the idea of a pandemic altering the industry (maybe permanently?). Fast forward four years, however, and the potential strategy for a sequel appears to be quite different. Back in August of 2019, Leitch dropped the update that a streaming service was interested in distributing "Atomic Blonde 2." After seeing how much the COVID-19 pandemc shifted the entire status quo, the intervening years has only made it even more likely that the film would end up releasing online for a streamer like Netflix.
As for when we might get to see the sequel, all we know at the moment is that star Charlize Theron confirmed that the project is definitely in the works:
"Yes, we're in the development stages right now, and that's the one thing that lockdown has been good for — being able to develop with writers over Zoom."
Until we get confirmation of a completed script, unfortunately, a precise timeframe remains up in the air. Leitch will be busy for quite some time, so here's hoping the stars align, schedules open up, and the sequel is officially greenlit soon.
What We Think Atomic Blonde 2 Will Be About
"Atomic Blonde" followed the hard-hitting espionage of Lorraine Broughton, the MI6 spy who gets swept up in a battle over control of The List — a document containing the names of all agents working in Berlin at the height of the Cold War. The actual structure of "Atomic Blonde" was sort of convoluted, using a series of haphazard flashbacks and featuring a story moving at a breakneck speed to quickly get to what audiences really came for: Charlize Theron dispatching enemies, seducing lovers, and somehow coming out on top (er, metaphorically speaking, of course) by film's end.
"Atomic Blonde" leaves Lorraine in a position where a future follow-up could easily join her in the midst of another mission altogether, perhaps taking an episodic approach where the film functions as a standalone adventure. While offering little in the way of specifics, Leitch himself commented in May of 2018 on what he'd like to do in a sequel:
"Oh, I would love to continue Lorraine's story. If there's will on all parties...it shall be. I think she's an incredible character and it's a really fun and interesting world and it's an interesting take on the spy genre, sort of like revisionist history look that's centered around a character with an existential crisis and then we wrap it up with some great trappings of music and hardcore action."
What We Know About the Atomic Blonde 2 Cast and Crew
First and foremost, it appears that there's certainly interest on David Leitch's part to return as director and on Charlize Theron's to reprise her leading role. It's hard to imagine what the stylish "Atomic Blonde" would have looked like without one or the other, but it's a safe bet that — all things being equal — both Leitch and Theron will be integral parts of the sequel. As Leitch has said previously, "I was a work-for-hire on that movie, but at the end of the day, Kelly McCormick — my producing partner and my wife — she will be involved, I'm sure, as a producer. That's how I got the gig in the first place. We'll see."
Figuring out the casting situation is a little trickier. Sofia Boutella portrayed Delphine Lasalle in "Atomic Blonde," a rookie undercover French agent who found herself caught up in a much larger situation when her paths cross with Theron's Lorraine Broughton. Delphine serves an important plot purpose as the two enter into a passionate sexual relationship ... but she's ultimately killed off unceremoniously by David Percival (James McAvoy) and, obviously, won't be appearing in the sequel as a result. Neither will McAvoy's Percival, who is ultimately killed by a vengeance-driven Lorraine.
It's possible, if not probable, that Theron will return in a sequel with a whole new cast of supporting characters. There's certainly a path forward for "Atomic Blonde" to become the next big action franchise alongside the likes of "John Wick." But every journey begins with a single step which, in this case, would be "Atomic Blonde 2."