Could No Escape be the next big action franchise? It's not an unreasonable question. The new movie, out Aug. 28, tells the story of Jack Dwyer (Owen Wilson), an American father of two who moves his family to an unnamed Asian country on the eve of a political coup, which results in a militia group taking over the country and attempting to kill all foreigners. Dwyer must protect his two young daughters and his wife (Lake Bell) while trying to navigate their way in through falling city in the hopes of making it to the American embassy. His only ally is a man named Hammond, played by Pierce Brosnan, who, based on the trailer, appears to have a very particular set of skills. Given Brosnan's gun-wielding hero, and the film's action-based drama, will No Escape have a sequel?
While it might seem overkill to have another movie in which Dwyer and his family must escape yet another political coup, it's not hard to imagine a No Escape sequel that tells the same story with different characters and in a different setting, or one that sets Brosnan's Hammond in a similar situation, saving an entirely different American family. If Taken can become a franchise, certainly No Escape could warrant a sequel, assuming it has a similar level of success. In addition, director John Erick Dowdle and his writing partner/producer/brother Drew Dowdle, the team behind last year's horror flick As Above, So Below, might be game for a sequel, though they have never made one before.
No Escape filmed on location in Thailand in 2013, and, though the film is set in an Asian country, the actual location is left unnamed. This may have been a deliberate choice, as there's been some controversy over the film's depiction of its non-white characters. How the audience responds to the film will determine whether or not a sequel gets made, as the voice of viewers is typically a driving factor behind any movie's possible spinoffs or sequels. Currently, there is no talk of a sequel, nor is No Escape being shopped as a potential franchise, but the film hasn't even been released, so there's still time for this to change.
Wilson, the main star of No Escape, has no intentions of becoming an action star, like his co-star and former James Bond, Brosnan. The actor has insisted that it wasn't the action that drove him to the role of Jack Dwyer, but his character as a family man. "I just kind of liked the set-up and could see myself in the situation. It's not so much that I'm an action hero at all; it's more just a father who's just learning to survive with his family. So it felt more realistic. That's it — if I can imagine myself in the role. And I can't really imagine myself as a Schwarzenegger... I don't see myself as an action hero," Owen told Entertainment Weekly.
No Escape hits theaters Wednesday, Aug. 26.
Images: The Weinstein Company (2); Giphy
