Here was one situation from which nobody wanted to be extracted, least of all Chris Hemsworth.
The Aussie action star traded in his combat boots and fatigues for a crisp red-carpet look in New York City on Monday night to celebrate the premiere of Extraction 2, the rock ’em-sock ’em follow-up to his hit 2020 action epic. In the new film, which hits Netflix on June 16, Hemsworth returns as Tyler Rake — a globe-trotting gun for hire who specializes in pulling off the most difficult and deadly missions. At the end of the first chapter in the series, it looked as if the soldier of fortune had sacrificed his life to save his young charge. But given the fact that Hemsworth reprises his role in the sequel, it appears Tyler Rake lived to fight another day, and extract another extraction.
Sam Hargrave and Anthony Russo
Also returning is director Sam Hargrave, who somehow managed to supersize the original film’s signature one-shot action set pieces. After all, if you thought the first installment’s breathless 11-minute “oner” was impressive, wait until you see the shoot-the-works 21-minute encore in Extraction 2. It’s enough to make you wonder how a third chapter could possibly top it….
“I don't know how you would do [it],” Hargrave told Tudum on the red carpet. But, he added, “If the fans respond as positively to the second one as they did the first one, and a third movie comes with this, we’re gonna have our hands full. Maybe the whole movie is a oner, why not?”
Golshifteh Farahani
Producer Anthony Russo agreed: “There’s this old writing adage we always like to cite, which says, ‘Write yourself into a corner.’ Meaning: Put yourself in a place creatively where you don’t know how to move forward, and then figure out how to move forward. That’s what we’ve done over and over again with Extraction — put it all on the table, put everything on the screen, and then figure out if there’s a way to tell another story in this narrative universe. We were able to find Extraction 2, and the big challenge now will be, can we find an Extraction 3?”
And where might the third installment of the franchise take them?
“I don’t know, Antarctica?” Russo joked.
Olga Kurylenko
Hemsworth, who also serves as a producer on Extraction 2, credits Hargrave for the movie’s relentless pace, saying that pushing the franchise forward was “just about getting in the writing process and talking to Sam and the stunt team and figuring out how to do something unexpected and different again.” Sporting a sharp gray suit, Hemsworth continued: “That’s what Sam’s pulled off with this. I think it’s better than even the first one and more adrenaline-driven and action-packed, if that was even possible, but somehow he did it.”
The sequel’s five-month shoot took the cast to Prague and Vienna, and required demanding stunt work and training. While Adam Bessa, who returns as Yaz in the new film, said that he unwound with parties and “sharing moments of life together” with his castmates, others, like Golshifteh Farahani, who plays Rake’s right-hand woman Nik, said that she didn’t have any energy left to spend on partying. “It was the most intense, tiring, exhausting shooting I’ve ever experienced,” she said. “It was in winter in Prague. We were just hanging in there, surviving, fully trying to reach the end line. So, no, there was no barbecue going on, I can assure you.”
Daniel Bernhardt
For his part, Hemsworth said that he would usually go home and zen out after each day’s wrap, mentally and physically recharging for what mayhem tomorrow might bring. “Just the exhaustion of the day and the stunt rehearsals — once you finish it, you kind of go home and just have quiet time, tap on Netflix, watch a movie,” he said. “Solitude, you know? You don’t want to hear anything or talk to anyone. You recharge and do it all over again the next day.”
Extraction 2 has a mix of new cast members alongside some familiar, returning faces. But one unexpected addition that makes a big impact with just a little screen time is Idris Elba, whose shadowy “Man in the Suit” kicks off the film’s plot by offering Rake an irresistible (and perhaps impossible) mission.
Tornike Gogrichiani and Adam Bessa
On his way into the theater, Hargrave said that he couldn’t wait for the audience’s first glimpse of Elba in the movie. “I think people are gonna lose their minds,” he said. “It's such a potentially universe-expanding cameo that can lead so many different directions. I’m really excited. The mystery, the intrigue, that charisma the guy has, the chemistry with Chris Hemsworth is really exciting.” In fact, Hargrave said that he was so excited when Elba’s casting was made official, he still remembers his reaction. “I believe I fist-bumped Chris Hemsworth and said, ‘Hell yes!’ ”
Anthony Russo, Adam Bessa, Chris Hemsworth, Golshifteh Farahani, Sam Hargrave, Olga Kurylenko, and Daniel Bernhardt
