Christian Wolff is heading back to the big screen again to confront criminal and terrorist threats, but this time, he’s not alone. Alongside Ben Affleck’s Wolff in The Accountant 2 is his estranged and highly lethal brother, Jon Bernthal’s Brax, who takes things to a new level of extreme. Together, Wolff and Brax uncover a deep criminal conspiracy that draws the attention of the world’s most dangerous killers. With everything at risk, the brothers must put their differences aside to solve this deadly puzzle.
To get a better perspective of how The Accountant 2 will unravel this unique dynamic, stars Ben Affleck, Jon Bernthal, Daniella Pineda, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, and director Gavin O’Connor answered the most pressing questions fans have been asking.
Affleck hasn’t been known to do follow-ups to his original movies. However, when asked about why he wanted to do The Accountant 2, Affleck said that there was more to do with Wolff.
“[Gavin O’Connor] and I both very much were drawn to the idea of bringing John back and expanding on that because we both really were like, ‘This guy’s fabulous,’” Affleck said. “[Bill Dubuque] and Gavin spent a lot of time in the intervening years developing and putting together in a quite typical of Gavin, meticulous, patient, detail-oriented, character-driven way, what it could be, because both were quite mindful of not wanting to repeat it.”
Bernthal recounted his experiences of what it was like building that brotherly dynamic with Affleck given their characters’ personalities: “It was a real thrill for me to get back, and I think with Ben, it just kind of happened that way,” Bernthal recounted. “I mean, it’s there, but it was very much supported by Gavin to sort of let moments linger and let it exist naturally and play the moments in between the beats.”
“There’s just so many little moments of truth that are going on that you love but can also drive you crazy from the right point of view, and I feel like I was really let off the leash to have a real opinion about that.”
“Jon and I had so many sit downs where we would just dissect the character and what’s the intention in this scene,” O’Connor added. “Once you just put these guys together, they both have specific wants, their characters are slightly bonkers in a certain way.”
Additionally, Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Daniella Pineda reflected on filming some of their action sequences in The Accountant 2. The film’s trailer showcased a few snippets, though it’s going to be more intense than shown.
“I always viewed Marybeth as sort of the entry point for the audience because she’s sort of observing and seeing all these things unfold around her and reacting in kind, and you know, myself as an actor, same thing,” Addai-Robinson said. “I think back to working on the first movie. I was nervous.”
“When we started on the sequel, and Marybeth has evolved, grown, she’s in this sort of elevated position within the Treasury Department, and for myself as a person and an actor, I felt like I had also grown, and it was like, “All right, I’m going to be returning to a situation that’s familiar. I feel a little bit more comfortable, a little bit more confident.’”
“I saw a video the other day of these two American eagle chicks in a nest and one of the siblings just takes out the littler one, takes out the nest. I was like, ‘Oh, hey, I know that girl. That’s on ice,’” Pineda said. “At the same time, you want to see that eagle hunt and you want to see that eagle fly, and there is something really compelling about watching a predator do their thing.
“At the same time, I felt like there’s more to her, there’s more layers there. So she’s not just a stone-cold killer, and it’s the type of role that I would like to see more women get to play.”
One of the most hilarious moments in The Accountant 2 features an awkward line dance involving Wolff, which has yet to be seen by fans. Affleck, Bernthal, and O’Connor hilariously recalled the experience during their talk.
“America doesn’t expect it. America wasn’t asking for it, but they’re going to get it,” Affleck joked. “That’s what I mean when you say big swing. That was one of the fun things about this thing, the idea that here’s a guy who’s trying to figure out, he wants to have a relationship with a woman, he’s trying to figure out how to do that, like how to put yourself out there.”
“I was like, ‘This scene will never work. There’s no way this is going to work,’” Bernthal added. “‘What does this scene have to do with anything?” As soon as I saw him go out there, and I was singing that song, I was like, I love that song, I love that.”
“That whole scene is really about the brothers. They’ve been in all this conflict driving up to that scene, and then at the end of the scene on the Airstream, he says, “Let’s go get drunk,’” O’Connor explained. “They’re still kind of in conflict trying to figure it out, but once he goes to dance, that starts to unite the two brothers, and it was just baby steps to get these guys there.“
The Accountant 2 releases in theaters on April 25.
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Christopher Gallardo is a freelance entertainment writer and critic. While not running The Reel Roller, Chris can be found writing reviews and breakdowns on all things films and TV. Outside of entertainment writing, he’s currently taking classes for a Bachelor’s of Science with a minor in Digital Media & Journalism. Plus, he loves Percy Jackson, animated films and shows, and Fallout! Follow Christopher on Instagram & X.