Nobody 2 duo Talk Gears of War Moving, passing through Jurassic World

David Leitch and Kelly McCormick learn a thing or two about franchises. Leitch released John Wick as co-director in 2014 and then branched out on his own, with producer partner McCormick and his wife helping him with Deadpool 2 and Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw .

But with Nobody 2, the duo's action-focused Banner 87north proved it could create its own homegrown franchises rather than playing in other people's sandboxes.

The $25 million film, which opened on August 15, once again starred Bob Odenkirk as unassuming suburban father (and ex-slayer) Hutch Mansel. Like any good movie, its behind-the-scenes story also had its share of emotion. The Nobody 2 crew was headed into production when the film lost its original director to another project at the last minute. Just eight weeks before cameras were set to roll, they landed on Indonesian filmmaker Timo Tjahjanto, making his Hollywood studio debut with the project.

With Nobody 2's modest budget and $17 million first-week earnings, it seems likely Odenkirk will get his wish to make at least one or two Hutch-starring movies.

So, 87north continues its franchise building with Violent Night 2 which soon begins filming with David Harbor once again playing a Santa Claus with a specific skill set.

The Hollywood Reporter about their lunch break on the Pittsburgh set of Leitch's How to Rob a Bank, an MGM Amazon Studios original starring a blond Nicholas.

We're all living in Nicholas Hoult's summer, but you're actually living it.

Kelly McCormick: We're a little crazy. It was our idea to do the hair, and then he exposed it during the Superman Fudge Curdled Milk. Everyone thinks it's just a random act of coolness. No, it's us! It's us! ( Lap .)

How much did you leave in the filming?

McCormick: We're two weeks and a few days in, so we're coming to an end. It's been a very short session for us.

Leitch . We're shooting in all the practical locations in Pittsburgh. We're all over 90 degrees.

So, Nobody turned Bob Odenkirk into an action hero for four years. How long after the first film did you settle on the idea for the sequel?

McCormick : We decided early on. "Let's play with micro-gassing when you bring your family on vacation and see how Hutch responds to it." We talked about Italy for a minute, because in the first one we planted seeds for Italy. It was like, "Actually, it's more fun if you just go to a city in Central America."

Leitch is always unpacking trauma from your past. Going to his childhood playground and remembering in a different way was also a connection that seemed to work very well.

I imagine you have an intense interview process when choosing directors. How did you end up on Timo Tjahjanto?

McCormick: I'm a huge fan of Timo, but we developed with a different director for a long time: Kirill Sokolov. While we were getting the green light, Kirill ended up getting a green light on another project, and he had to make a very difficult decision. We had eight weeks when we all agreed to add Timo, and he came in right away. We had to get his visa in order. We did a rewrite for him. It was very last minute. He was very respectful of what we created together, but he really tried to push the envelope in his own way and also give his own voice. And he turned out to be perfect for that.

Leitch takes this kind of film and puts his own polish on it. You can see this in the action scenes and you can see it in the increased violence and all of this. It's very contrived.

What kind of ideas of Bob's did he want to explore in this sequence?

McCormick was really attentive to what the fans wanted. He says people come to him and talk about Hutch almost more than anything else. The fact that this comedian came in as this real action hero, he wanted it to feel like someone could [become an action hero.]

We went a few months after the Oscar announcement for Stunt, which David was instrumental in creating. When your film, which focused on stunts, Falling Guy gone, did that make things easier by talking to the gym?

Leitch changed the conversation. It was Kelly's idea to lobby the guilds to rename the stunt coordinator for the stuntmen on the contracts, and now he has the option to do so. It really crystallized in the gym's mind that this is a craft, not unlike production design or costume design. It's action design. It's a stuntman. The advocacy of [ Fall Guy stars] Emily (Blunt) and Ryan (Gosling) helped.

At this stage, a Fall sequence is not likely, but it sounds like you have plans for where you could go.

Leitch Ryan and I had early conversations and some discussions about where this is going. We had some really fun ideas. So, who knows, maybe down the line, it becomes one of those IPs that people want to revisit because there's such theater. That would be my dream, but if not, there are plenty of other stories to tell.

How to Rob a Bank is released in 2026, so it won't be eligible for the Oscar for Stunt Performance, which begins with 2027 films. Come 2027, will it be a riot? Are you hearing people step up their game?

McCormick Keeping Its Top Stock for 2027! ( Lap .)

Leitch: There are many different types of stunts that can be considered. It's not just because someone broke a record or because it's the best moment in the show. It will be very impactful on film and memorable. As we're really improving the standards within the gym, it will elevate the perception of what the stunt coordinators do.

You were briefly attached to direct Jurassic World film this summer. What happened? Was it just a matter of wanting to pivot to an original story rather than an established IP?

McCormick: If we're going to get into an IP or a franchise, it has to be right at the right time for the right reasons. And we were very seduced by the incredible franchise that Jurassic and. But it's getting harder to make originals, and we felt like, "If they go away, we'll try to make originals as soon as possible."

Leitch When you see an opportunity for original material that you like that this studio will support and finance, we want to keep pushing for it.

You made Deadpool 2, The Old Fox of the 20th Century. Marvel Studios let Ryan Reynolds go, and Shawn Levy is producing Deadpool and Wolverine , and Russian Bros. is producing the next two Avengers films. Is this something that would be intriguing, or at least worth discussing with Marvel?

Leitch: Yes, the answer is yes. If we were in charge of architecting a universe around a specific IP, this scratches the creative itch. It's less director-for-hire and more: "If you want to let us architect the universe, this is really exciting for us." We're looking for these opportunities, and if this happens, let's entertain. Kelly, in particular, is building our own franchises. Like Nobody , like Violent Night 2 , which we start shooting in four weeks.

When filmmaker Tommy Wirkola shoots Violent Night 2, David will be on post for How to Rob a Bank . How will you juggle?

McCormick: We have eight weeks of remote editing on How to Rob a Bank . Then David can stage in Winnipeg while we're shooting Violent Night 2 for basically eight weeks. I'm the only producer on set, really. David hopes to pop in from time to time to drop some knowledge.

Leitch ( Shakes his head. ) No, I'll be cutting this film. ( Laughs. )

Where are you in Gears of War Movie that David is attached to push on Netflix?

McCormick We're now writing with Jon Spaihts, and we're really excited about that. There's a lot of energy from [ Gears of War company] The Coalition and Netflix, because the Coalition is releasing a game in 2026. We won't hit the release date, but maybe something that feels relevant to the release of the new game. It's an opportunity for David to make a war movie, which he hasn't done yet, and a little bit of science fiction in his own way with this beloved IP in his own way.

You're developing a lot of projects, both to produce and to direct, with David. How are you sorting through everything?

Leitch Kelly doesn't stop. And our team at 87North and CAA all help us find material within our brand and what we think stands out. We're constantly reading. We call it the book club. I barely read books now. I just read the scripts.

McCormick: It's harder to get green lights now, even for us, than ever. But we'll have made seven movies in two years by the end of this year. This is a good run. It's just trying to find things that are still fun and bold in their own way. And what's right for David is very different from what's right for the production we do.