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Personally, I thought this was another project that was killed due to the writers and actors strike or even the lukewarm reception of the previous film, but I was wrong as John Wick franchise helmer and 87Eleven action maestro Chad Stahelski has served up a much-needed update for the adaptation of Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six which is a direct follow up to Without Remorse. The latter saw Hollywood A lister Michael B. Jordan stepping into the shoes of a new Tom Clancy inspired franchise and Without Remorse was to be the starting point for a new series of films with the ever-popular Rainbow Six being the next entry in the series. The initial film came out in 2021 with immediate talks of Jordan tacking up for the next thriller, but it’s been radio silent ever since leading many to believe that the movie plans had been shelved.
Without Remorse was initially supposed to hit theaters but it was a victim of the pandemic and went straight to Amazon Prime’s streaming service. That with unfavorable reviews put Rainbow Six in jeopardy even before all the strikes hit that delayed any sort of development from happening. The first film starred Jordan as Navy SEAL John Kelly who battles a high-level conspiracy when his team is systematically assassinated, and his wife falls victim as well in an attack meant to take him out. Kelly then becomes a one-man war machine as he hunts down those responsible. I, for one, loved the film and thought it had just the right factor of bravado and bullets to entertain fans of military actioners. You may read my initial review here.
It was announced back in January of 2024 that prolific action filmmaker Chad Stahelski, who is responsible for the action cinema theatrical resurgence with the John Wick franchise, had been tapped to direct the sequel. Fans, like me, were immediately amped up as Stahelski being involved and directing with his 87Eleven production banner would certainly rev up the action set pieces to a fever pitch. This did bode well for the franchise and any future installments. Stahelski has proven himself one of the most formidable action directors today having had a successful career as a stuntman. John Wick was his directorial debut and we all know how that turned out.
Well, fear not action disciples as Rainbow Six is very much alive and Stahelski, in a recent interview, served up an update saying that they were taking their time to adapt such an iconic story from the late, great Tom Clancy. The strike did delay any plans and Stahelski even sated that he and his team were “in a bit of a conundrum with developing” because of the strikes.
Stahelski recently ran interviews for the 10th anniversary of the first John Wick franchise and the acclaimed director stated that they were “taking [their] time” with the film and that they “just want to get it right.” This comes from a recent interview with The Direct.
“Michael B. Jordan is one of my favorite cast members that I’ve had to develop or work with. He’s a fantastic guy, tons of energy. I think he’s got so much potential, not just in the action genre… Rainbow Six. It’s a big property. It comes from a big IP. So it’s, you know, the development to do it right. You’ve seen how both video games and in Hollywood are sometimes tricky. It’s always about doing it right and finding the right I, so it gives room for the fans to love what you’re doing. But also you have to give margin to expand out and go. We’re taking our time. A lot of good ideas of being flushed around. It’s been a lot of good development work. We just want to get it right,” Stahelski stated in the interview.
Unfortunately, while this is good news for fans, it’s also important to note that we will probably not get Rainbow Six anytime soon and it will definitely be 2026 or even later as Stahelski is busy with the anticipated Highlander reboot with Henry Cavill. Even though we have to wait, at least we know Jordan is going to jock up in the future as the leader of the elite group of Black Ops operatives and John Kelly will live to fight another day.
In the meantime, check out Jordan in action from the first Tom Clancy adaptation Without Remorse!
