"The Accountant 2" Moving Forward with Ben Affleck Returning

Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, J.K. Simmons, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson are set to return for the sequel to the 2016 action thriller "The Accountant", with Amazon MGM Studios teaming with Affleck and Matt Damon’s Artists Equity.

Gavin O’Connor is returning to direct the sequel from a script penned by the original movie's screenwriter, Bill Dubuque. 

Artists Equity serves as the studio for the upcoming movie and set the pic up at Amazon MGM after acquiring sequel rights from Warner Bros. 

This will be the companies’ fourth project together after the chart-topping Jennifer Lopez doc "The Greatest Love Story Never Told", sports drama "Air", and the upcoming "Unstoppable", based on the true story of wrestler Anthony Robles.

Grossing $155M worldwide in its 2016 theatrical release before going on to become the most-rented digital pic of the subsequent year, "The First Accountant" starred Affleck as a highly skilled CPA with autism who leads a double life as a forensic accountant for criminal organizations. 

When his Christian Wolff uncovers discrepancies in a legitimate robotics company, he must navigate a dangerous web of deceit while staying one step ahead of both the law and his criminal clients.

Bernthal played Christian’s security company operator brother Brax, with Simmons as Ray King, the Director of the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. 

Addai-Robinson took on the role of Marybeth Medina, an up-and-coming Treasury agent tasked with unearthing The Accountant’s identity.

The sequel’s plot is set into motion when Medina’s former boss is killed by unknown assassins, and she’s forced to contact Christian to solve the murder. 

With the help of his estranged but highly lethal brother Brax, Chris applies his brilliant mind and less-than-legal methods to piece together the unsolved puzzle. As they get closer to the truth, the trio draws the attention of some of the most ruthless killers alive — all intent on putting a stop to their search.

Affleck and Damon are producing for Artists Equity, alongside 51 Entertainment’s Lynette Howell Taylor, and Mark Williams. 

Exec producers include Artists Equity’s Dani Bernfeld, Kevin Halloran, Michael Joe, and Alison Winter. In addition, Scott Lastaiti and Jamie Patricof serve as EPs.

Affleck is coming off of "Air", the drama examining Nike’s groundbreaking business deal with the NBA’s Michael Jordan on the Air Jordan shoe line. 

In addition to directing the acclaimed feature for Amazon MGM, he starred opposite Damon as Nike co-founder Phil Knight. Upon the pic’s SXSW world premiere, it grossed over $90M, more recently securing Affleck the Gotham Awards’ inaugural Visionary Icon and Creator Tribute.