5 Reasons Jason Bateman Must Return for Game Night 2

Game Night is one of those rare studio comedies that actually stuck the landing: sharp, stupid in the fun way, and surprisingly twisty. It made real money, critics loved it, and then... nothing. Directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein scrapped sequel plans because they figured a follow-up would ding the original’s legacy. I get the caution. I still think they should go for it — and let Jason Bateman take the wheel this time.

Quick refresher: why Game Night hit so hard

Released on February 23, 2018, the R-rated black comedy blended crime, thriller, and mystery beats into a legit crowd-pleaser. Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams lead a killer ensemble (Jesse Plemons, Kyle Chandler, Billy Magnussen, Lamorne Morris, Sharon Horgan, Michael C. Hall, Chelsea Peretti) in a 100-minute sprint where a cozy game night tips into a not-so-staged kidnapping. It grossed $117.7 million worldwide on a $37 million budget (per Box Office Mojo) and sits at 85% Certified Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. Tonally, it’s that sweet spot: ensemble banter, multiple reveals, and a constant dance between suspense and stupidity. If you want to revisit it, it’s streaming on Netflix in the U.S. and available on other major platforms.

1. The ending tees up a bigger, weirder story

   The finale literally zooms out to a cliffhanger. After a charades celebration for Annie’s pregnancy at Brooks’ house, the camera pulls back to a black van where masked guys are loading guns. Then Brooks admits he sold a witness protection list to some very bad people. Translation: more heat is coming for this friend group.

   Daley and Goldstein later said that ending was basically a fake-out for a sequel and, more importantly, their way of leaving the audience wanting more (via ScreenRant). Mission accomplished. Whether or not they planned a Part 2, the door is wide open.

2. Let Jason Bateman direct this time

   Bateman was initially attached to direct Game Night before stepping back to produce. Since then, he’s put together a directing resume that screams "let me juggle tension, character, and dark laughs." He made the caustic spelling-bee comedy Bad Words (2013); the sly family mystery The Family Fang (2015); and key episodes of Ozark (2017–2022), which is basically a masterclass in turning suburban panic into propulsive storytelling. He also helmed early chapters of The Outsider (2020), a chilly crime-horror hybrid adapted from Stephen King.

   On deck, he’s got The Partner (feature, TBA), about a lawyer who steals $90 million, fakes his death, and runs from everyone; and Black Rabbit (limited series, 2025), where a rising-star restaurateur gets dragged into New York’s criminal underbelly when his chaotic brother shows up with loan sharks on his tail. If you’re sensing a theme — crime, consequence, and gallows humor — you’re not wrong. That sensibility fits a Game Night sequel perfectly.

3. Bigger cast, bigger playground

   The first movie already stacked the deck: Bateman, McAdams, Plemons, Chandler, Magnussen, Morris, Horgan, Hall, Peretti. A sequel with a slightly larger budget could widen the map and have fun with stunt casting — think international guest stars like Bad Bunny or Aaron Taylor-Johnson. There’s also room to pull drama heavyweights who secretly love to go weird and funny, the way Apple TV recently paired Bryan Cranston and Greta Lee for The Studio. The original proved this group can handle escalating stakes; now let them play on a bigger board.

4. Bateman vs. sequelitis

   Bateman knows how sequels can go sideways. He made his feature debut back in 1987 with Teen Wolf Too, which did not exactly live up to Teen Wolf’s charm. After Arrested Development blew him up, he bounced between comedy and drama (Juno, The Gift), then headlined Horrible Bosses, a hit that spawned a sequel that... did not hit.

   For context: Horrible Bosses (2011) cost $35 million, made $209.8 million worldwide, and scored 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. Horrible Bosses 2 (2014) cost $42 million, made $107.6 million, and sits at 35% on Rotten Tomatoes. Bateman himself put it bluntly in an E! News interview:

   "The second one was garbage as far as box office goes. Who knows whether it was on the merits or when they released it, but it did not do any money."

   He’s been through the sequel meat grinder. He also knows where it breaks, which is exactly the perspective you want steering a follow-up to something as tight as Game Night.

5. Hollywood could use another A-list black comedy

   Studios are mostly chasing franchises and multiverses right now, which leaves grown-up comedies scrambling for oxygen. There’s a new Naked Gun with Liam Neeson slated for 2025, but beyond that, star-driven dark comedies are thin on the ground.

   When they do pop, they hit: The Nice Guys (2016) paired Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling for a bruised-and-bantering $50 million detective romp; Birdman (2014) put Michael Keaton and Edward Norton in a $18 million acid trip about ego and legacy; Seven Psychopaths (2012) mashed up Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken in a $15 million meta-crime farce about a stolen dog; and The Menu (2022) plated Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy in a $30 million satire that was both vicious and weirdly delicious. A Game Night sequel could live in that same smart, nasty, starry space. And if the genre keeps getting love from filmmakers like the Safdie brothers, the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino, and David O. Russell, the audience will follow.

So, should they roll the dice?

Daley and Goldstein don’t want to tarnish the original. Fair. But Game Night left its characters and its tone in a place that absolutely supports one more round, especially with Bateman directing. Keep it R-rated, keep it twisty, keep the chemistry, and resist the bloat that kills most sequels. Easy to say, hard to do — but this team has already done the hard part once.

Would you want a Game Night 2 with Bateman behind the camera? Drop your take below. And if you need a refresher, Game Night is streaming on Netflix in the U.S. right now.