A couple of years ago, Jake Gyllenhaal's Road House remake was a massive movie for Amazon. Even though it only debuted on streaming, millions went there to watch it and had a lot of fun in the process.

The movie did so well that it was a no-brainer to greenlight a sequel. But now, in an occurrence that could only happen in Hollywood, there are two competing Road House sequels in development: one from the studio (Amazon MGM) and a rebel project from the remake's original director, Doug Liman.

It's one of those crazy things that we have to cover.

Let's dive in.


The Story Behind Dueling 'Road House 2' Movies 

So, let's just get right into it. Amazon MGM Studios did the thing we all know would happen and officially moved forward with Road House 2 once they saw the streaming success of the first one.

That film retains much of the talent from the first one:

  • Who's Involved: Jake Gyllenhaal returns as Elwood Dalton. He'll be joined by newcomers like Dave Bautista, Aldis Hodge, and Leila George.
  • Who's Not: Doug Liman. After his very public dispute with the studio, Liman is out. Ilya Naishuler (Nobody) will take over directing duties.
  • The Plan: This sequel is being developed for a release on Prime Video.

Doug Liman's Own Vision

This is where things get wild. Doug Liman, who felt betrayed by Amazon after the first movie, isn't just walking away. He's launching his own competing Road House movie to fight their movie.

  • The Film: Liman has acquired the rights to Road House: Dylan, a sequel script written by R. Lance Hill, the man who wrote the original Road House.
  • The Plot: This film will not be a sequel to the Gyllenhaal one. Instead, it’s a direct sequel to the 1989 movie, following the story of Swayze's character.

How Is This Legally Possible?

I'm not a lawyer, but none of this seems like it should be able to be happening. And yet...this whole thing actually all hinges on a massive federal lawsuit over who actually owns the Road House rights.

  1. The Writer's Claim: R. Lance Hill filed to reclaim his rights, arguing his 1989 Road House script was not work for hire. He claims he wrote it as a spec, sold it at auction, and had no studio supervision. By his count, the rights reverted to him in November 2023.
  2. The Law: Section 203 of the U.S. Copyright Act allows original authors to reclaim the rights to their work after 35 years, unless it was created as a "work for hire."
  3. The Studio's Claim: Amazon and MGM claim that because Hill sold the script through his loan-out corporation, it legally qualifies as a "work for hire," meaning the studio owns it forever.

They're going to need to sort through all the accompanying documents and memos, and deals to see what happened.

Why Is this Happening?

Okay, so the basic answer is that there's a ton of bad blood between Amazon, MGM, and Liman. He wanted theatrical, they did streaming, and the fallout ensued.

Liman publicly protested the decision and wrote a guest column for Deadline, blasting the studio and its decisions. So by acquiring the rights from Hill, Liman is striking back at the studio with a movie he feels could hurt them and help himself.

Summing It All Up

This is such a wild story that feels like a movie plot in its own right. We now have two competing chains of title, two scripts, and two very different movies.

I am not sure if either of these gets made, but it would be so funny to live in a world where they both do and get to face off.

That just feels poetic.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

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