Director Doug Liman, who helmed the hit Amazon MGM remake Road House featuring Jake Gyllenhaal, is gearing up to make his Part 2 without the actor or the studio that backed the first film.
Two different Road House sequels are in works
Doug Liman has secured rights to a different Road House sequel, written by the film’s original writer, R. Lance Hill. The project, titled Road House: Dylan, is a follow-up to the 1989 Patrick Swayze classic rather than Amazon’s recent remake, Deadline reported. Hill’s script revisits the gritty world that made the original a cult favorite, setting up a potential rival to Amazon’s studio-backed continuation.
Meanwhile, Amazon MGM Studios has already started production on Road House 2, directed by Ilya Naishuller. Jake Gyllenhaal will return as ex-UFC fighter Dalton and will be available to stream exclusively on Prime Video.
The Road House remake became a breakout success for Amazon. Yet the success was bittersweet for Liman, who had originally negotiated a theatrical release. When Amazon opted for a streaming-only rollout, the director publicly voiced his disappointment and even considered boycotting the film’s SXSW premiere before changing his mind.
The rights to Road House are currently tied up in a federal lawsuit involving Hill, Amazon, and MGM. Hill claims he reclaimed ownership of his 1986 screenplay under Section 203 of the U.S. Copyright Act, which allows authors to recapture their work 35 years after its sale. Hill argues that Road House was not a “work for hire,” meaning he wrote it independently before selling it to United Artists.
By that logic, Amazon’s 2024 remake would have infringed upon his reclaimed rights. Amazon, however, insists that the film’s ownership remains valid, arguing that Hill sold the script through his company, Lady Amos Inc., making it a corporate “work for hire.”
Doug Liman’s decision to collaborate with Hill aligns him with the writer’s claim, creating two parallel versions of Road House 2: Amazon’s studio-produced sequel and Liman’s author-approved continuation.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on ComingSoon.
