Road House franchise gets two new sequels despite rights dispute

The Road House IP is currently going through some rights disputes, but its cinematic path is seemingly continuing to grow, with not one but two sequels. Amazon already has plans for one sequel. However, in a recent report by Deadline, it was revealed that Doug Liman, the film’s director, has acquired the rights to the original screenplay from R. Lance Hill, who goes by his pen name, David Lee Henry.

Hill wrote the first film, which was released in 1989, and it later received a sequel 17 years later, with the story written by Miles Chapman. Over the years, the first film has gone on to develop a cult following.

After 18 years of the first movie, we recently got a remake of the same name, where Jake Gyllenhaal stepped up as the main protagonist, James Dalton. Amazon MGM Studios released it for streaming on Prime Video despite assuring that they would support a theatrical release. It became a massive streaming hit, attracting around 50 million viewers over a couple of weekends.

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What's this new Road House sequel called?

Doug Liman isn't directing the sequel that Amazon MGM Studios plans. Rather, his movie is called Road House: Dylan. It is also likely that Jake Gyllenhaal won't reprise the role of James Dalton in it, as it will focus on a different character.

For the Amazon MGM Studios sequel, Ilya Naishuller will direct the movie with Jake Gyllenhaal reprising his role as James Dalton. Leila George, Dave Bautista, and Aldis Hodge will also star in the movie.

Liman wasn't happy after his deal with Amazon MGM Studios regarding the film's theatrical release. Despite the film being deemed fitting as a sleeper hit for theaters, it was given a streaming release, which might also have affected Doug's compensation had it run in cinemas.

He wrote in a guest article for Deadline that,

"What else could I have delivered to the studio? Nothing, it turns out. Because contrary to their public statements, Amazon has no interest in supporting cinemas. Amazon will exclusively stream Road House on Amazon’s Prime. Amazon asked me and the film community to trust them and their public statements about supporting cinemas, and then they turned around and are using Road House to sell plumbing fixtures."

He also initially refused to attend the film's SXSW premiere but later did, at his own expense, paying for his own travel.

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Who is Dylan in the story?

As of this moment, Dylan remains a mystery character in the story. ScreenRant speculates in one of its articles that he might be the son of James Dalton. However, that is unlikely because the sequel to 1989's Road House introduced Shane Tanner, played by Johnathon Schaech, who was James Dalton's son.

While James Dalton is a professional bouncer, his son is a DEA agent in the sequel. However, like father, like son, he too becomes responsible for keeping a bar safe from criminals.

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Road House: Dylan will be the sequel to the original

We are getting a couple of Road House sequels, but to avoid confusion, one will be made by Amazon MGM Studios, which will continue the story of James Dalton from 2024. The other will differ as it connects to the original film, with Gyllenhaal already in the equation.

The other will be developed by Doug Liman and is associated with the original film, not as part of the remake.

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