Domestic distribution rights to London Has Fallen, the sequel to last year’s White House-under-attack actioner starring Gerard Butler, have been acquired by Focus Features, the company said Thursday.
A release date of Oct. 2, 2015, has been slated for the sequel, which returns Butler as a former Secret Service agent. The action in the sequel is kick-started when the prime minister of Britain dies “under mysterious circumstances.”
Focus Features did not state whether Aaron Eckhart will reprise his role as the president of the United States or Morgan Freeman will return as Speaker Allan Trumbell.
Olympus Has Fallen, which was budgeted at an estimated $70 million, was released on March 22, 2013, by FilmDistrict and grossed over $160 million worldwide in theaters.
Antoine Fuqua directed the title, which was one of two films — the other being Sony’s box-office disappointment White House Down — released within several months of each other that depicted the an invasion of the White House.
The sequel will be written by Olympus Has Fallen writers Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt along with Christian Gudegast.
