Netflix’s Extraction 2 promises a thrilling follow-up to Extraction, which is shaping up to be the greatest action franchise in Chris Hemsworth’s resume. Extraction stars Hemsworth as a mercenary hired to rescue and protect the son of a crime lord. Directed by Sam Hargrave, it’s based on the graphic novel Ciudad. Extraction has received mixed reviews since its release, with critics praising it for its action and stunts, but calling out its rather thin storyline. Yet, it is precisely this combination that has allowed Extraction to be on par with franchises like John Wick and other pillars of gun-fu.
Extraction and Extraction 2 director Sam Hargrave is a veteran stunt performer and coordinator, whose previous credits include Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, with Extraction being his feature directorial debut. One of Extraction‘s most ambitious sequences is a one-shot 12-minute car chase and gun battle, and the Netflix Extraction 2 trailer hints at something similarly epic in the sequel. The ending of Extraction is deliberately left ambiguous regarding Tyler’s fate, but the Extraction 2 trailer confirms Chris Hemsworth is most definitely reprising his role. Here are all the Extraction 2 updates Netflix has given up, so far.
The most recent Netflix Extraction 2 updates are based around a surprise character that Netflix amazing managed to keep a secret until now. Hemsworth will be joined by another MCU/Thor character, Idris Elba, who plays Heimdall in the cinematic universe. A clip was revealed in June 2023 of Elba in the movie, and while it doesn’t give anything away about the character, Elba’s Extraction 2 character details have been confirmed too. According to Netflix, Elba plays the Man in the Suit, adding, “a mysterious figure who kicks off the film’s plot by offering Hemsworth’s Tyler Rake an irresistible — and perhaps impossible — mission.”
Other recent Extraction 2 updates included a second trailer in anticipation of the movie’s fast-approaching release. Similar to the first trailer, the new footage gives a look at the wild and ambitious stunts being attempted in Extraction 2‘s action sequences. However, the trailer also hints at the story for this sequel, suggesting a more personal mission for Tyler Rake. The trailer sets the sequel up to be another relentless action movie that is backed with intensity and throws Chris Hemsworth right in the middle of all the mayhem.
The official Extraction 2 release date is June 16, 2023. Extraction 2 will also start showing in theaters in the U.S. on the same day, which has been the case of a handful of Netflix releases in recent years. Notably, the release date comes a little more than a year after Extraction 2 finished filming in March 2022. Extraction 2 has been confirmed since May 2020 — just weeks after the release of Extraction — and in December of that year, the Russo brothers officially expressed their desire to turn Extraction into a full-blown cinematic universe.
In January 2021, reports (via Republic World) suggested that the Russo brothers could already be working on a spinoff starring Randeep Hooda’s Saju Rav, the former paramilitary bodyguard charged with protecting Tyler’s target. Extraction 2 wrapped filming in March 2022, but the Russos have not given any other significant updates regarding Extraction 3 or any future spinoffs. That said, more news could come after the official release of Extraction 2.
Extraction 2 will see the return of Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake, Golshifeh Farahani as Nik Khan, and Adam Bessa as Yaz Khan. The official cast list suggests that they are the only characters returning for the sequel. Notable additions to the Extraction 2 cast include Tinatin Dalakishvili as Ketevan — Tyler’s new target for extraction — Black Widow‘s Olga Kurylenko as a character named Mia, and actor and martial artist Daniel Bernhardt as Konstantine. Other new cast members include Andro Jafaridze as Sandro, Miriam and Marta Kovziashvili as Nina, George Lasha as Sergo, World Arm-wrestling Champion Levan Saginashvili as Vakhtang, and Idris Elba as the mysterious Man in the Suit.
In Extraction‘s climactic final battle, Tyler apparently sacrifices his own life to ensure that his young charge, Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) makes it to safety. After receiving at least two life-threatening bullet wounds along with an assortment of other injuries, Tyler falls off a bridge and plunges into the water below, disappearing from view. However, in the final shot of the movie, an out-of-focus figure watches Ovi swim. Hargrave told IndieWire that Tyler explicitly died in the original version of the script, but that this was changed after test screenings to make Extraction‘s ending more ambiguous:
“If people on one hand feel like the story is complete and is a story of redemption through sacrifice, then for them it’ll be where the kid is imagining [Rake standing there], and then now you go, ‘Yes, I’m satisfied.’ If you feel like you love Tyler Rake and you want a sequel, and you’re like ‘There’s no way, you can’t kill him!’ then that’s Tyler Rake standing there looking at you. So we kind of purposefully did not pull focus to the character standing there.”
Indeed, the Extraction 2 trailer reveals that not only is Tyler Rake alive, but that Nik and Tyler are back to their old ways. This time, Tyler will be rescuing a young woman named Ketevan and breaking her out of a Russian prison. Though earlier statements by the Russo brothers suggested that Extraction 2 could be a prequel, the trailer reveals otherwise, and indicates a time jump to when Tyler has recovered from his grave injuries in Extraction. Though the trailer is action-packed, it reveals very little about the actual story, save for how Tyler will be extracting another target from a Russian prison. It also remains to be seen if the movie sets the stage for a possible Extraction 3.
Extraction 2 was almost going to be a prequel instead of being set after the original Extraction. However, director Sam Hargrave eventually decided against the idea (via MovieWeb). The filmmaker explained, “I don’t think you can [leave] an audience with that ending and then not go figure out what happened because that’s the question. Everyone’s like, ‘What? How? Who? When? How did that happen?’ And so, we have to answer that question.” The decision was for the best, as not getting that answer as to how Tyler survived being shot at in Extraction’s ending would have been wholly unsatisfying.
While this Netflix Extraction 2 update doesn’t give away too much in terms of story, it guarantees that the action sequences in the sequel are way more ambitious. Hargrave also spoke about a one-shot scene that rivals the iconic and brutal Hallway scene in Oldboy (via MovieWeb). The original Extraction already featured a 12-minute one-shot sequence, but Hemsworth hinted at one in the sequel that’s over 20 minutes and includes a moving train, a helicopter, and over 300 extras.
The Extraction 2 trailer quickly confirms Tyler’s survival after the events of the first movie with Nik telling him he was clinically dead 9 months earlier. While Tyler is seen in a nice isolated wintery home as he recuperates, the rest and relaxation does not last for long as he is quickly thrown right back into the action. A large portion of the trailer is dedicated to what looks to be Extraction 2‘s new one-take action sequence as Tyler protects his new clients aboard a train.
The trailer also hints that this is not just another assignment to distract Tyler from his pain but perhaps something more personal. Along with suggestions of him forming a bond with the young daughter he is protecting, at one point, Nik asks if Tyler knows these clients. It feels as though it is linked in some way to the son Tyler lost and the question that comes up a couple of times in the Extraction 2 trailer about the reason Tyler fought his way back after certain death.