Yes, you read that right. Gerard Butler is back yet again as Mike Banning in what is now known as the Has Fallen franchise.

Photo credit: Lionsgate
What began in 2013 with Olympus Has Fallen has ballooned into a money-making series for the action star. After Olympus came London in 2016, followed by Angel in 2019.

Next up will be Night Has Fallen, the fourth in the series and what it’s about is totally a mystery. In fact, how Butler’s Banning will continue to be a cartoon action man made corporeal will certainly need to be explained.

Photo credit: Lionsgate
In Angel Has Fallen, we learned that Banning’s frequent headaches and insomnia are symptoms of serious spinal cord damage. His doctor warns him that if he continues with his human-punching-bag ways, he’ll die.

This doesn’t stop him saving the president (played in Angel Has Fallen by Morgan Freeman) from terrorists, with the help of his long lost dad Nick Nolte. What a cast, honestly.

Despite the dangers to his health, Angel Has Fallen did set up a sequel pretty blatantly. As you may remember, the film ended with Banning vindicating himself and outing Vice President Kirby (Tim Blake Nelson) as the real man behind the attempt on the President’s life.

Photo credit: Lionsgate
But this left President Turnbull in a bit of a pickle, wondering who else Kirby had been working with to assassinate him and whether there are other underground cells of terrorists just biding their time, waiting for a new leader. Meanwhile, Banning was promoted to Director of the Secret Service which… seems like it would be a desk job, but knowing Banning it won’t be.

Night Has Fallen could pick up directly with this plot, but that would mean that Freeman would have to return to the series. Given that there’s no release date yet planned, Night Has Fallen could do a big enough time jump to put another president in charge.

Photo credit: Lionsgate
Nick Nolte could return as Banning’s father, Clay, but much of that character arc was covered in Angel Has Fallen, so what he would do in the film, if he returned, remains to be seen.

We have to assume that ‘Night’ is a code name, much like Angel and Olympus (though London was just London). What it could be though is a mystery.

Angel Has Fallen’s director Ric Roman Waugh will return to direct co-write the script with his Angel Has Fallen’s co-writer, Robert Mark Kamen. So far, no one else from the previous Has Fallen films have been confirmed to return.