The Big Picture
Despite being ignored during the Oscars award season in the aftermath of its release, the 2021 Netflix original movie, The Harder They Fall was a brilliant hit for the streamer. Boasting an impressive star-studded line-up both in front of and behind the camera, the film is a Western boxing noir film with a predominantly Black cast that received rave reviews from critics and audiences. The film was directed by Jeymes Samuel in what was his directorial debut, off a screenplay he had penned himself. The course of events in the film had not hinted to there being an expansion planned, however, it would seem that is exactly what is in the works.
In the first week of its release according to Netflix, The Harder They Fall racked up an impressive 64 million hours. Such numbers hint quite clearly that it was a favorite among audiences. In response to a social media user on X (formerly known as Twitter) who had revealed a desire to see a sequel of the movie in the works, director Samuel teased a sequel for the hit movie in two simple words — “There is.” If The Harder They Fall 2 does materialize, then it can be considered to be an unexpected development. The original movie was very much an open-and-shut case in terms of its storyline, with no immediately visible threads to pull to expand the tapestry. However, if a sequel will be anywhere as good as the first installment, we are all for it.
The Harder They Fall tells the story of Nat Love (Jonathan Majors), a fearsome outlaw, who sets out to eliminate his enemy Rufus Buck (Idris Elba) who has managed to escape the custody of the state. Given Buck’s terrifying reputation and equally deadly crew, Love’s quest for vengeance will see him and his own crew, face off his sworn enemy in a brutal showdown. Giving a bit of background to his character in the aftermath of the film’s release, Elba said about Rufus Buck, “No one wants a guy like that around” and we couldn’t agree with him more. He gives a bit of a warning to viewers about the beginning of the film and says that it’s “particularly brutal” and that’s when we will see “Rufus in his true colors.”
The Majors Complication
Should a sequel begin to build momentum towards production, one of its major obstacles will be the legal challenges faced by lead actor, Majors. The actor who was very much a rising star at the time of the initial film’s release, was arrested in March, earlier this year under charges of assault, harassment, and strangulation brought in an alleged domestic violence dispute with his girlfriend. With a trial date of September 6, the actor’s defense had vehemently denied the allegations, the result of the trial, however, is sure to impact this and other projects the actor is a part of.
Watch the trailer below:
