The plot of The Hitman’s Bodyguard revolved around Ryan Reynolds’ Michael Bryce trying to safely transport a dangerous hitman played by Samuel L. Jackson while trying to patch things up with his ex-girlfriend Amelia, who is played by Elodie Yung. However, Yung is not in the sequel, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which serves as the largest role not reprised.
RELATED: Interview: Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard Director Patrick Hughes
When asked why Yung’s character of Amelia wasn’t in the sequel, and the romantic-comedy elements involving Bryce were dropped, director Patrick Hughes had a simple answer.
“Because Michael Bryce is a suffering fool, so whatever he wants, he can’t have,” said Hughes. “So if he’s found true love, then my movie’s over. I don’t have anything. There’s no conflict. He needs to want, and whatever he wants, he’s never going to get. Because it’s the want versus need, and this goes back to mythology, but it’s like, whatever he wants is actually not the right thing that he needs. So he’s searching for what he thinks will make him happy, and what he thinks will make him happy is validation and success and a triple-A rating, and getting his career back. It’s like, really? Well, you’re still going to be an empty sack of shit inside because that’s who you are as a human being. So, it’s about the internal suffering, so that’s why I felt like you just couldn’t be., Because if we came to part two and he’s in a loving relationship with a beautiful woman that he doesn’t deserve, cause clearly she’s too good for him, then I’d be like, well, I’ve got no story to tell. Well, where do I go from there? Like, what’s your problem?”
Hughes also said the biggest difference from the first film is that they embraced the comedy elements from the get-go.
“I think because the first film was originally, it was sort of like a more straight action film. Then I came on board, and I was like, ‘This has got to be a comedy,’ and Ryan agreed, and we sort of reworked it. Whereas this time, it’s like from the foundation up. We were like, okay, we learn a lot like in the first film, and now we get to sort of build it from the ground up, this time knowing exactly what it is and what it should be.”
Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard is now playing in theaters.
