Sylvester Stallone's ESCAPE PLAN is getting a sequel

I never thought I would see the day where I was completely meh on more Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger, but that day has arrived. 13-Year old me must be scowling in disgust at present me across the spacetime continuum right now, as I have to roll my eyes at the news that a sequel to 2013’s Escape Plan is currently in development.

Deadline brings the news, revealing that Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films co-CEO’s Randall Emmett and George Furla will produce, with Lionsgate acting as their domestic distribution partner. Miles Chapman, who scripted the first film, will be returning to pen this sequel. There’s no word yet on whether Swedish-born director Mikael Håfström will be returning to helm.

The original film saw Stallone as Ray Breslin, a security expert who on the instructions of his clients intentionally gets himself sent to the world’s most secure prisons, where he breaks out so that he and his team can test the security. Except he then gets betrayed and locked up in an experimental, privately owned prison called the Tomb. Cut off from his team, he is forced to work with Schwarzenegger’s senior prisoner Emil Rottmayer to break out and find out who stuck him in this hole.

As far as concepts go, it was very much the type of kind of ridiculous action thriller setups we used to get aplenty in the 90’s, and combined with Stallone and Schwarzenegger’s name on the posters had some old school fans like me looking forward to it. The actual movie ended up just decent – not terrible, but just good enough.

Which is exactly the same you can say for the film’s box office receipts as well, as it made $137 million off a $50 million production budget. Remember, that’s without the undisclosed advertising costs factored in, which leaves the movie definitely being profitable, but definitely also not setting the box office alight. However, while the film tanked hard in the US, $40.9 million of those proceeds came from China alone, which is why it should come as no surprise to learn that a “major Chinese component” has put up the cash to get this movie made.

As for what the movie will be about, there’s no talk of Schwarzenegger returning (which would fit with the sendoff his character got). The big surprise though is that while Stallone is definitely back as Breslin, he will now be moving into a supporting role. No word on who will be taking the lead.

Last Updated: November 2, 2016