How Idris Elba's Cameo in 'Extraction 2' Sets Up Future Films and ...
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Extraction 2.]
Welcome to the Extraction Universe.
Released in April 2020, the Sam Hargrave-directed Extraction soon became the most-watched original film in Netflix history, making a sequel a no-brainer. With Chris Hemsworth set to return as professional extractor Tyler Rake, Hagrave and writer Joe Russo wanted to introduce a new character to open up the world for potential spinoffs and franchise extensions.
"We knew that someone had to have this gravitas and charisma that could go toe-to-toe with Chris Hemsworth — and that's no easy task," Hargrave tells The Messenger. "So then it becomes casting the right person, and it was actually a very short conversation, because, once Chris read that part, he's like, 'Hey, I know just the guy,' and he made the phone call."
That call was to his former Thor costar Idris Elba. The Golden Globe-winning actor shows up early in Extraction 2 as "The Man in the Suit," a mysterious figure who tracks Rake down to recruit him for a mission that hits close to home. In the film's final moments, Rake and his partner Nik (Golshifteh Farahani) are captured, only later to be escorted from prison to meet Elba's well-dressed character, who teases the impending arrival of a future big bad.
"We were so fortunate that Idris was available and willing to do it because it's not a big role for him — at this time," Hargrave shares. "But the potential down the line is what he's kind of intrigued in. So we'll see if people enjoy the second one and whether or not there'll be a third, but, as a fan, it would be really exciting to see those two onscreen together."
Hargrave says he's "waiting with bated breath" to see what ideas Russo might come up with for an Extraction 3 "because he's going to have to do something wild and spectacular to outdo the first two." An option that intrigues Hargrave is revisiting the relationship between Rake and Ovi (Rudhraksh Jaiswal), the young boy he saves in Extraction. The original film concluded with Ovi and the audience being surprised by the return of a presumed-dead Rake, and Extraction 2 reveals how Rake survived. According to Hargrave, the timeline suggests that, right before Rake goes on the big extraction in the sequel, he takes a secret side mission to see Ovi, who is never mentioned in the new film.
"We actually shot a scene where we spoke about that," Hargrave reveals. "We got footage of the kid and talked about how he's great, and Rake went to see him. But we just felt like that was one storyline too many. It kind of took a lot of the emotional connection with the family away, and it was too much of a holdover from the first movie, so we left that out. But I think it'd be interesting to do a check-in with that side of the world and see what Ovi's up to these days."
