Does The Rhythm Section Have A Post-Credits Scene?

The Rhythm Section has hit theaters, and inquiring minds would like to know if the band continues to play on after the credits.

Depending upon the flick's box office performance, it could very well be the beginning of a new franchise for star Blake Lively and director Reed Morano, who has acquitted herself nicely in her first feature effort after handling episodes of such acclaimed television series as Halt and Catch Fire and The Handmaid's Tale. Lively stars as Stephanie Patrick, a woman mourning the loss of her entire family in a tragic plane crash — an event rendered particularly heartbreaking by the fact that she, too, was supposed to be on board.

When it becomes apparent that the crash was no accident, Stephanie attempts to exact revenge on those responsible by assuming the identity of an ice-cold assassin, placing herself under the tutelage of the mysterious Iain Boyd (Jude Law). Much intrigue, action, and gunfire ensues, as Stephanie quickly comes to learn that she just may be in over her head.

These days, of course, such action-packed properties will always be considered for the potential franchise treatment, and while The Rhythm Section is no different (which we'll get to momentarily), the filmmakers opted not to go with the now-standard method of teasing a sequel. While the conclusion of the film does indeed leave the door open for further installments, you'll find nothing after the credits roll on The Rhythm Section except for a blank screen. (Just to clarify, there's no enigma to be unraveled here; it just means that the movie is over. Unusual, we know.)

As to the question of whether The Rhythm Section's characters will return in another story, well, the more literary-minded among you have probably already parsed out that that is the idea. The flick is based on the novel of the same name by Mark Burnell (who also wrote the movie's screenplay), and it is the first in the Stephanie Patrick series; should The Rhythm Section clean up at the box office, it just so happens that there's plenty of material to draw on for future installments.

The second novel, Chameleon, finds Stephanie drawn back into a life of intrigue after attempting to leave it behind at the conclusion of The Rhythm Section. The third, Gemini, finds her facing new challenges after she grows a little too close to one of her targets, and the fourth, The Third Woman, finds her framed for a terrorist attack in Paris.

The $50 million flick doesn't need to break the box office to have a shot at getting a continuation, but it will need to best some pretty stiff competition which includes the atmospheric horror flick Gretel & Hansel, the insanely over-performing Bad Boys for Life in its third weekend, and on the small screen, some obscure sporting event called the Super Bowl.

Hopefully the film can rise above; Lively gives a scintillating performance, and the flick is well-shot, well-directed, and well worth a watch. The Rhythm Section is in theaters now.