The Real Reason This Ryan Reynolds Movie Isn't Getting A Sequel
Ryan Reynolds is an actor with a résumé full of hits and misses. He's not afraid to take on the silliest of roles, and sometimes he even pokes fun at his biggest mistakes (we're looking at you "Green Lantern.") He might be a superstar, but simply attaching his name to a project doesn't guarantee it's going to be a success. He has quite the loyal fanbase, ready to tune into anything he might put out, but their reception isn't always the warmest, even if they keep coming back for more.
Every film Reynolds puts out isn't going to be "Deadpool." No matter how big the budget or how great the supporting cast is, sometimes an actor will have a failure on their hands, and it has nothing to do with their performance. That's the case with one of Reynolds' biggest movies of the last few years. It was one we were confident would get a sequel at first, but we just learned the kibosh was put on any franchise plans for this popular 2019 Netflix original film.
Netflix film 6 Underground was a miss
In 2019, Netflix released "6 Underground," a high-octane action flick with Ryan Reynolds as the lead and Michael Bay directing on a $150 million budget. The film was full of pulse-pounding action sequences and dramatic explosions, with Reynolds calling it "the most Michael Bay movie that Michael Bay has ever Michael Bayed" in a promotional video. The action-comedy centers around a billionaire (Reynolds) who fakes his death to create a vigilante crew to take down terrorists and other scummy criminals. Known as One, the billionaire's team includes five other members who are named Two (Mélanie Laurent), Three (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo), Four (Ben Hardy), Five (Adria Arjona), and Six (Dave Franco). Creative, right?
The film sounded good on paper and in meetings, but when it finally landed on Netflix in December 2019, it was ripped to shreds by critics and fans alike. It currently holds a 38% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's not "Suicide Squad"-level bad, but still pretty terrible. The problem? It was overstuffed, silly, and a little too "Michael Bay."
Robert Levin of Newsday described the film perfectly, saying, "This is a terrible action movie that utilizes Michael Bay's worst instincts and none of his best."
Wenlei Mai of News.com.au furthered those sentiments, noting, "6 Underground really is as terrible as you'd expect it to be, exactly the kind of brainless, bombastic and seizure-inducing fare Michael Bay is known for."
6 Underground will not be getting a sequel
Despite being one of Netflix's most-viewed original movies of all time, per The Hollywood Reporter, "6 Underground" was a miss in every other way. It was bad enough for Netflix's Film Chief Scott Stuber to note to Variety that a sequel definitely isn't coming. "We didn't feel like we got there on that one creatively. It was a nice hit, but at the end of the day we didn't feel like we nailed the mark to justify coming back again. There just wasn't that deep love for those characters or that world," the Netflix boss admitted.
The streamer never confirmed a sequel for the movie, but it was largely suspected based on how well it performed in terms of viewership. It looks like numbers are not the only important thing, based on Stuber's recent comments. Not only does a Netflix original need to have the masses tuning in, but it also needs to resonate with those viewers who dedicate a few hours of their life to watching it.
"6 Underground" just didn't have people talking at the water cooler, and the one's that were, weren't talking about it in a good way.
Netflix has plenty of other properties to franchise
Netflix is choosing to move forward with sequels for debut films that had a positive response quantitatively and qualitatively. In the action genre, that catalog includes "The Old Guard" and "Extraction," just to name a few. So Ryan Reynolds and company won't be reuniting for "6 Underground 2," "7 Underground," or "2 Underground 2 Furious" — but with plenty of other films on his docket, he's probably not too worried about it at this point.
Scott Stuber further expressed what is of utmost importance to the folks at Netflix when it comes to making original content: "We have to be more consistent at making these movies more culturally relevant and putting them in the zeitgeist. We know the audience is there for these movies, but I want people to feel that impact in their conversations with friends and colleagues where they're saying did you hear about this movie 'Old Guard'? We've done it, but we haven't done it consistently."
It all comes back to those water-cooler moments — which, yes, is Twitter these days — and unfortunately, for "6 Underground," it trended for all the wrong reasons.