'Extraction' sequel on Netflix a done deal with Joe Russo

Joe Russo confirms his return for the "Extraction" sequel and hopes to work with director Sam Hargrave and actor Chris Hemsworth again.

Joe Russo has confirmed his return as the screenwriter for the "Extraction" sequel and says he is in the "formative stages" of writing the story.

Russo (famous for his work on "Captain America: The Winter Soldier," "Captain America: Civil War," "Avengers: Infinity War," "Avengers: Endgame") said that the deal with Netflix for him to write "Extraction 2" is "closed" and that he is "in the formative stages of what the story can be." He did not say where the story will take place following that cliffhanger in the first film.

"We're not committing yet to whether that story goes forward, or backward in time. We left a big loose ending that leaves question marks for the audience," Russo told Deadline.

That "loose ending" certainly had viewers asking for a sequel. To recap, "Extraction" ended with the possibility that Tyler Rake (Chris Hemsworth) could still be alive after his presumed death from a gunshot wound on the neck. Ovi Mahajan (Rudhraksh Jaiswal) came out of the pool and saw a figure of a man whom viewers presumed to be Rake.

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Iâ€™m very proud of all the hard work that has been poured into this project. This has been a difficult few months for all of us, and we hope this will provide a bit of entertainment while we are all staying home. Check it out April 24th on @netflix. Thank you @thesamhargrave @rudhrakshjaiswal1 @therussobrothers, and @netflixfilm for the opportunity to help bring this story to life.
A post shared by Chris Hemsworth (@chrishemsworth) on Apr 7, 2020 at 3:01am PDT

The "Extraction" sequel could delve into that cliffhanger or do a prequel because there is still a lot to be told about Rake. The other characters also seem to have past stories themselves, and they could be a good avenue for exploration in the installment.

"There was always a simple drive to the story, a balletic execution of action where you take a damaged character who made an egregious mistake in the past and has a shot at redemption which might be fatal," Russo said of Rake, who took it upon himself to save Ovi as a redeeming act after he left his dying son because he could not handle the pain.

"What was key is that we needed a muscular action director like Sam [Hargrave] to be the main creative force in the execution of the action," he added, and expressed his hope that Hargrave and Hemsworth would be in the "Extraction" sequel too. However, news of their return has yet to come out. Russo said he needs to write the story first before he can convince the actor to return.