Sumith Prasad
Scott Waugh’s action thriller film ‘Hidden Strike’ revolves around Dragon Lou, a special operative who sets out to extract nearly five hundred Chinese individuals from a Chinese oil refinery, which has been under the attack of a group of rebels, in Baghdad. Owen Paddock, the leader of the rebels, kidnaps Professor Cheng, the refinery’s head, to steal oil from the same. Lou teams up with Chris Van Horne, whose brother gets killed by Owen, to save Cheng and stop the rebels.
Alternatively titled ‘Project X-Traction,’ the film received mixed reviews from both critics and audiences alike. However, the action thriller’s ending, which ensures ample scope for a sequel to materialize, must have made the viewers curious about the prospects of the same. Well, here’s everything you need to know about the sequel.
Will There be Hidden Strike 2?
‘Hidden Strike’ released in theatres on July 6, 2023, and July 7, 2023, in selected countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, etc. The film had its United States premiere on July 28, 2023, on Netflix. The action thriller was also released in selected territories, via the same streaming platform, on the same day.
As far as the sequel to the film is concerned, here’s what we can share. As of now, XYZ Films, the production house behind ‘Hidden Strike,’ has not released a statement concerning the sequel to the action thriller. Narrative-wise, there is ample scope for the producers of the film to develop a sequel. The movie ends with Dragon Lou getting signed on another unrevealed mission. Lou asks Chris whether he is interested in teaming up again for another assignment, only for the latter to nod yes. The potential sequel can follow Lou and Chris trying to complete another dangerous mission in which they will be forced to put their lives on the line.
However, there can be several practical difficulties in the way of XYZ Films if they are committed to developing a sequel. ‘Hidden Strike’ is a project produced in 2018. Since then, the priorities of the stars of the film, prominently Jackie Chan and John Cena, may have changed. After the success of James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad’ and ‘Peacemaker,’ Cena is currently one of the busiest stars in the industry with around eleven committed projects to release. It is unknown whether the WWE icon can commit to the potential sequel at this stage of his career. Jackie Chan, on the other hand, hasn’t been committing to Hollywood action films for a while.
However, it doesn’t mean that a sequel to the film is an impossibility. Netflix teaming up with XYZ Films to release the film in the United States and other selected territories can be considered a positive sign, as far as the chances of a sequel materializing are concerned. If the film records impressive viewership on the streaming platform in the coming days, Netflix may buy the film and turn it into an original to develop the sequel. Following the success of the ‘Extraction’ film series, the streaming giant may want to develop another franchise in the same genre. If Netflix greenlights the same, we can expect the ‘Hidden Strike’ sequel to release sometime in Q3 2025.
XYZ Films and Netflix previously joined hands together for projects such as ‘Run Rabbit Run,’ ‘I Came By,’ ‘Stowaway,’ ‘Apostle,’ ‘The Most Assassinated Woman in the World,’ ‘I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore,’ ‘ARQ,’ ‘Mercy,’ etc. Considering the strong partnership between the two companies, they may team up again to develop the sequel to ‘Hidden Strike’ if the same surprises the streaming giant with its performance.
Read More: Where Was Hidden Strike Filmed?
