Night Has Fallen is set to be Olympus Has Fallen 4, but updates on the next Gerard Butler Has Fallen movie haven’t spelled a certain future for the sequel. In 2013, Antoine Fuqua’s Olympus Has Fallen kicked off the franchise, with the subsequent sequels released every three years. Scottish actor Gerard Butler reprises his lead role in both London Has Fallen and Angel Has Fallen, and he’s been confirmed for future sequels as well. Likely, Morgan Freeman’s Alan Trumbull should also be joining him to make an appearance in Night Has Fallen, and with the star-power-pull of the cast of the Has Fallen franchise another sequel seemed a sure thing, but Olympus Has Fallen 4 could still be far from release.
All of the Has Fallen movies have been box office hits, primarily due to the popcorn thrills entertainment and Butler’s on-screen machismo. The actor has established himself as a viable action star over the years, beginning with memorable roles in Dracula 2000, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life, Beowulf & Grendel, and 300. Now, at age 50, Butler is still perfectly capable of leading a high-profile Hollywood blockbuster action film, albeit somewhat differently than a fellow 50-plus action star like Tom Cruise. However, Night Has Fallen has broken the three-year trend, and Night Has Fallen updates hint that it’ll be even longer until it’s released. The franchise is still set to continue, but when Night Has Fallen will arrive isn’t anywhere near as clear.
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Night Has Fallen Updates
As reported by Deadline in November 2019, some Night Has Fallen news was broken by producer Alan Siegel revealed plans to expand the franchise with no less than three more sequels after Angel Has Fallen and several TV spinoffs in different countries, including Night Has Fallen. The idea is to introduce new characters who would reappear in future movies. This would follow in the footsteps of shared cinematic universes like the MCU, with Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series tying up with the MCU blockbusters, and the DC Extended Universe, which has expanded The Suicide Squad to the long-form format of HBO Max’s Peacemaker.
While there haven’t been many Night Has Fallen updates, the spinoff TV series saw some movement in 2023. There has been concrete development for the show, which will officially be called Paris Has Fallen and will be a standalone story set in the same universe. Paris has Fallen will star French actor Mathieu Kassovitz, who will play Vincent, a protection officer guarding a French Minister against a terrorist group. Principal photography for the series will being on May 30. Though Butler isn’t reprising his role in the series, he is producing Paris Has Fallen through his production company G-BASE, and it apparently won’t distract from the development of Night Has Fallen.
Night Has Fallen Release Date Info
Unfortunately, the Night Has Fallen release date hasn’t been revealed given that news on the sequel is few and far between. Considering the little information known so far about Night Has Fallen, the direct sequel to Angel Has Fallen has already broken the three-year release tradition of its predecessors, and it’ll likely be a couple more years before it’s released. As Night Has Fallen is still in the development stages, there are still a lot of hurdles the fourquel has to jump before it ever sees the light of day. Gerard Butler did give an update while promoting his movie Plane in May 2023 (via comicbook.com), but it wasn’t anything concrete — “We have a script for that, but I haven’t been working on it at the moment. We have a really fun idea, it just needs to be to be developed.”
Night Has Fallen Story Details
With movie news being light on Night Has Fallen updates, An official synopsis hasn’t been released for Night Has Fallen. Based on the events of Angel Has Fallen, Mike Banning would likely face new challenges as the Director of the Secret Service. Meanwhile, he would also have a unique domestic life, at least if his father Clay continues to live at the family home. Allan Trumbull would likely return more prepared than ever, and Banning would feel more responsible when working alongside him in his new position. Now that Paris Has Fallen will soon enter production, Night Has Fallen could see Banning join forces with Vincent too.
Night Has Fallen Returning Cast
In 2020, Variety reported Millennium Media’s latest updates of the fourth Has Fallen installment, which has been dubbed Night Has Fallen. As of January 2021, the only cast member of the previous three Has Fallen movies that have been confirmed is Gerard Butler. However, Robert Kamen and Ric Roman Waugh have also been confirmed to return as writers, with Waugh set to direct the film as well. Morgan Freeman will likely return as Allan Trumbull — the President of the United States who survives an assassination attempt in the third film, and subsequently promotes Banning. Expect the Night Has Fallen narrative to shift outside the United States.
The Real Reason Olympus Has Fallen Became A Franchise
The action/thriller series began with Olympus Has Fallen, and was only released slightly before a film with the same premise, White House Down – but the latter performed better at the box office, so why did Olympus Has Fallen end up becoming the franchise property? The reasons Olympus Has Fallen got a franchise but White House Down didn’t include budgeting and overall content. While the Has Fallen movies usually open to mixed reviews and don’t perform as well as other movies, they still bring in around triple their budgets, and the franchise is relatively cheap to make. The Has Fallen box office numbers always seem to justify the studio’s investment.
In addition, the Gerard Butler action movie franchise provides a great action series for the actor. The movies are single-concept action flicks that tend to deliver on the “action” portion. Gerard Butler always gives a standout performance in a role that’s tailor-made for him, and the films are ripe with tension. As a result, it’s easy to understand why Night Has Fallen is likely to do well right out of the gate.
Gerard Butlers Lawsuit May Delay Filming Night Has Fallen
Updates surrounding Night Has Fallen have been few and far between, but news surrounding actor Gerard Butler’s legal battles could mean more delays for the fourth installment. Reportedly, Butler has taken out a lawsuit against the franchise’s producers, Millenium Film and Nu Image. According to media reports (via Deadline), an audit of all the films’ profits stunningly revealed that the producers in question understated their receipts by over $11 million. However, they also claimed that Gerard Butler has yet to receive payment.
While Nu Image claimed they were straightforward with the Has Fallen sequel actor, Gerard Butler decided to go forward with the lawsuit, regardless. This is currently why production for Night Has Fallen has come to an indefinite halt. However, the fact that Paris Has Fallen is officially in the works indicates that the studio and actor plan on continuing to work together, as Butler is heavily involved in the show’s production. Either way, it doesn’t look like Night Has Fallen will begin production until after the Paris Has Fallen series has wrapped.