The Accountant 2 will dive into the dynamic between Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff and his on-screen brother, Brax (played by Jon Bernthal), reveals director Gavin O’Connor. Both characters are back in action in the movie’s new trailer, which also highlights returning stars Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Marybeth Medina and J.K. Simmons as Ray King (though the trailer reveals that character’s fate early on). The death of King is the impetus for the story, fueling Marybeth and Chris and driving them to solve a complicated logistical puzzle.

The long-awaited reunion of Ben Affleck and Jon Bernthal took years to make in part because of studio shake-ups at Warner Brothers, which were eventually overcome with the help of Affleck’s production company Artists Equity. Even though the sequel took years to make, the trailer shows Affleck and Bernthal back in action seemingly without missing a beat. While their interplay is at the core of the movie, The Accountant 2 will also dive deeper into the lives of certain original film characters like Justine.

ScreenRant spoke with The Accountant 2 director Gavin O’Connor about his work making the sequel to his currently trending The Accountant. O’Connor detailed the long journey to getting the movie made and explained his decision to kill off J.K. Simmons’ Ray King. The director also spoke more about the movie’s key relationship, and how that helps set it apart from the original.

“It Was Like Making A One-Million-Dollar Independent Film”

O’Connor Reveals How Struggles Getting The Movie Made Ultimately Paid Off

The Accountant 2 was very nearly a casualty of studio turmoil, reveals O’Connor: “I think there was a bit of a revolving door and musical chairs going on at Warner Brothers. We made the deal to write the next movie in 2018, and it was just, I don’t know, whatever dysfunction goes on in studios these days.” O’Connor went on to say, “there were regime changes, so we were facing those obstacles.”

Once Affleck started his company Artists Equity, it looked like the sequel may have another chance at life, but more complications arose: “I don’t know if there were complications with Warner Brothers and Artists Equity doing a co-studio kind of deal–I’m not really sure exactly what happened with all that–but we just could never get it going over there. Once Ben had his studio, we were like, ‘If you’re not going to make it, don’t hijack it and not allow us to go pursue this film we’ve been trying to make now for eight years’.”

Amazon helped save the day. “They gracefully gave us their blessing and let us leave, and we went right to Amazon, because they had heard what was going on. A lot of the people that used to work at Warner Brothers that Ben and I knew from the first movie are at Amazon now, so we had a lot of friends.” Ultimately, though, the movie was pushed over the line by financing through Affleck’s company. O’Connor said the following: “It was a negative pickup, so Ben’s company, Artists Equity, financed the film, which was a joy. Honestly, it was like making a one-million-dollar independent film. It was all about the creative act, and we just created this really fertile environment, and had fun and went and made the movie.”

The Accountant 2 Has “Certain DNA” But Is Otherwise A Very Different Film

O’Connor Wanted To Explore Something Different In The Sequel

The Accountant was an action/thriller with a puzzle-like plot that made it a standout among otherwise similar fare. “It’s funny with certain critics. They would have some issues with the complexity of the plot, but what I always tell people is, ‘If it’s a simple plot, then anybody can figure it out, and no need to get Christian Wolff to come in’,” said O’Connor. Although the trick to The Accountant franchise is “making it complicated enough that only Chris can crack it and the audience is just a little bit behind, but they’re not so far behind that they kind of doze off and lose interest,” O’Connor set out to make a very different movie this time around.

WIth the sequel, “there’s certain DNA that we honored,” O’Connor shared, but, “I had no interest in repeating what we did in the first movie. I wanted to build off the first one, but very much wanted to refresh the tank, do something very different, and create something very new.” As for the plot itself? “Bill and I very intentionally built the plot around human trafficking … because I wanted to shine a light on that subject matter and explore that.”

The Primary Relationship In The Accountant 2 Is Between Chris & Brax

The Movie Is About “The Emotional Line” Between The Pair

According to O’Connor, Chris and Brax serve as the beating heart of The Accountant 2. “I really wanted to go deeper with the brothers, make it a two-hander, and explore that relationship with Chris and Brax.” But it wasn’t always easy, reveals the director: “That created some complications because it was a bit of a tonal тιԍнтwalk. When you’re handling such heavy subject matter as human trafficking and then trying to make a fun, entertaining film… it was challenging. It was challenging, and I honestly didn’t know if I pulled it off until I put it up in front of an audience. But, fortunately, it’s all working and I’m very pleased with it.”

On the brothers, O’Connor also said the following: “They’re both on a quest for love and human connection, and they’re both looking for that and need it from each other. That’s really what the movie’s about. It’s this emotional line between these brothers as they’re trying to express themselves to each other and understand each other, and that’s really what we were exploring inside of the puzzle movie.”

Expect Some Returning Characters From The Accountant, But Not All

And Don’t Expect To See Too Much Of J.K. Simmons, Either

When it comes to other returning characters from the first film, audiences shouldn’t expect to see Anna Kendrick’s Dana: “Well, Dana’s not in the movie. That was just the first one.We have a whole new movie.” The Accountant’s Justine, however, will be featured alongside a cast of children that O’Connor couldn’t have spoken more highly of: “We have much more of Justine in the second film than we did in the first. Also, Harbor Neuroscience and all the kids at Harbor Neuroscience–we’ve created that world with these kids who work with Justine, and we cast all kids that are either neurodivergent [or] who are on the spectrum to play the roles. I’ve got to tell you, man, they’re as good as every other actor in our movie. They were so just authentic and honest and no acting. They were amazing, which, when you see the movie, I’m sure you’ll agree. The kids were great.”

J.K. Simmons’ Ray King also makes a return in The Accountant 2, but the death of the character has already been revealed in the trailer. “That was a painful conversation with J.K.,” O’Connor said, “to let him know that he’s going to get offed in the movie.” It’s something of a complement, though, because it’s the death of Ray King that drives the story of The Accountant 2 forward: “The reason Bill and I made that [choice], and that was a very specific decision when we were mapping out what the second film was going to be, [was] because it had to be personal for Chris. I wanted it to be personal for Chris, and for Marybeth. That relationship that Chris has with Ray King grounded the audience in the first movie where they got to explore that. It just felt like it was a good key in the ignition of the story where we lose that person that Christian had a relationship with and that was a mentor to Marybeth, and let that be the wave that we ride for the film.”

O’Connor Praises Jon Bernthal’s Action Abilities, But Has Even More To Say About The Movie’s Emotionality

Keeping An Eye On Character Was Key “So It Doesn’t Feel Like Just Generic Action”

To round out the conversation, O’Connor spoke to Jon Bernthal’s impressive work ethic after being asked how the actor elevated the film’s fight scenes. “The thing about Jon is he’s the hardest working actor,” O’Connor said, “He’s so committed to his craft and to the character and doing biographical work on the character. So it really starts with just building a character, and then from there you put him in any situation, [and] he can do it.”

But the action isn’t necessarily the point: “Obviously, he’s a very physical guy. He’s a really good athlete. He has a fighting background. So doing all that action–he loves doing it. He’s really scientific about the choreography and then making it feel like it’s not choreographed, so there was a lot of work doing that. But most importantly, even inside of the action, what was most important was continuing to push character so it doesn’t feel like just generic action or disposable violence.”

To that end, the trailer for The Accountant 2 certainly highlights both the action and the emotionality of the film. “It needed to be a little canvas of the movie,” said O’Connor. There appears to be an appeтιтe for such a movie as well, with the trailer accumulating nearly 4.5 million views in the two days since it was posted to the Amazon MGM Studios YouTube account. O’Connor’s reaction to that many eyes on the trailer? “My heart just skipped a beat there.”