Road House 2 Adds MMA Stars as Jake Gyllenhaal Reprises Role

Amazon MGM Studios has expanded the cast of Road House 2 with a slate of current and former mixed martial artists and a leading actor returning to his role, the studio said. Jake Gyllenhaal will reprise his part from the 2024 remake, and the production has added Dustin Poirier, Michael Chandler, Michael Venom Page, Stephen Thompson, Tyron Woodley, and kickboxing champion Rico Verhoeven, with former fighter-turned-actor Jay Hieron set to reprise his role from the first film. Filming is scheduled to take place in the United Kingdom, Malta, and Savannah, Georgia.

Studio announcements did not disclose character details for the newly cast fighters. Ilya Naishuller is directing the sequel from a script by Will Beall, and producers include Charles Roven and Alex Gartner alongside Nine Stories Productions. Additional returning and new cast members previously announced for the project include Leila George, Aldis Hodge, and Dave Bautista. Plot specifics remain under wraps.

The casting continues a trend of bringing combat-sport figures into mainstream action films. Several of the new cast members are well known within mixed martial arts and kickboxing. Poirier is a recently retired UFC...