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Nobody was expecting much from Extraction when the movie hit Netflix in April of last year. It may have boasted some big Marvel Cinematic Universe connections via Chris Hemsworth in the lead role, Joe Russo writing the script and producing alongside brother Anthony, with Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame second unit director Sam Hargrave making his feature debut behind the camera, but mid budget actioners are ten-a-penny on streaming these days.
However, a swirling set of circumstances saw the bruising tale of Tyler Rake go down a treat with Netflix subscribers, generating a mountain of online buzz and riding a wave of momentum to entice almost 100 million viewers to check it out in the space of four weeks, making Extraction the streaming service’s most-watched original film ever.
Not to detract from those accomplishments, but it certainly helped that it arrived during a time where COVID-19 lockdowns were at their strictest, with millions of people largely ordered to remain confined to their homes. Off the back of that success, we’re not just getting Extraction sequels, but an entire cinematic universe.
As you can see in the video below that Hemsworth posted on Instagram, the already-shredded Thor star is maintaining peak physical condition as Extraction 2 gears up to shoot this fall.
Having lost the element of surprise, it’ll be interesting to see if Extraction 2 can come close to matching the viewership figures of its predecessor. Sequels to popular hits always tend to perform better at the box office, but we’ll find out next year if it also applies to streaming-only projects.