#Gerard Butler Will Return as Mike Banning in Night Has Fallen

Gerard Butler isn’t done as Mike Banning just yet. Millennium Media has announced a fourth entry in the popular “Fallen” franchise titled Night Has Fallen. It will serve as a sequel to 2019’s Angel Has Fallen, which proved that the series still has plenty of gas in the tank. The news comes as the 41st American Film Market gets underway. The AFM has pressed forward by holding an online edition this year. The studio will launch global sales of the project during the event.

According to multiple reports, Gerard Butler will return in his starring role with director Ric Roman Waugh at the helm. Waugh helmed Angel Has Fallen, which was quite successful, earning $133 million at the global box office. Robert Kamen is also returning to pen the screenplay. Plot details are being kept under wraps for the time being. There is no word on other possible returning cast members, such as Morgan Freeman or Nick Nolte, who was introduced as Mike Banning’s father in the most recent installment. Millennium Media president Jeffrey Greenstein said that the hope is to shoot the sequel next year.
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“We’re hoping to do it in 2021. We’re working with Gerard Butler and Ric Roman Waugh on the specific dates. Our partners are very happy about it. We’re also beginning to develop it as a TV series.”

Beyond Night Has Fallen it seems the studio hopes that Mike Banning can make the jump to the small screen as well. The series launched in 2013 with Olympus Has Fallen, which saw Gerard Butler trying to thwart an attack on the White House. The movie earned $172 million worldwide against a $70 million budget, paving the way for 2016’s London Has Fallen. The follow-up was an even larger success, taking in $195 million. Interestingly, the reported budget has decreased with each entry, which is uncommon in the realm of theatrically-released sequels. But that could be the key to longevity, especially with looming uncertainty at the box office for the foreseeable future.

Les Weldon, Yariv Lerner, Alan Siegel, Gerard Butler, Jeffrey Greenstein and Jonathan Yunger are on board as producers. Avi Lerner, Trevor Short and Boaz Davidson are also set as executive producers. The intention is to shoot the movie at Nu Boyana Studios in Bulgaria. Additional filming is set to take place around Europe.

It is difficult to speculate where the story could go in Night Has Fallen. The previous installment shook things up a bit, with Mike Banning, a well-trained former Army Ranger and Secret Service member, on the run, framed for an attempted assassination on the president. By the end, things were cleared up and Banning had reunited with his father. There is no word yet on a possible release date. But with production expected to take place next year, sometime in 2022 seems likely. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news was previously reported by Variety.

Topics: Fallen 4