Adam Clay’s next enemies are the people who trained him. The first trailer for The Beekeeper 2 pits Jason Statham’s character against his own organization after it goes rogue and tries to take control of the government. The group that works outside the normal chain of command to protect the hive has become the threat.
That turns the first film’s premise against Clay. The Beekeepers’ independence was presented as essential to their mission, but the sequel asks what happens when that freedom becomes a license to cause chaos. Now Clay has to stop the organization that made him.
The official synopsis puts it plainly: “Pulled back into the fight when the Beekeeper organization goes rogue and sets its sights on controlling the government, Clay must take on the very group that made him.” Nerdist reads that setup as a sign that the consequences of Clay’s actions in the first film are still putting him in danger.
The first trailer makes the approach to action just as clear. Clay kills his way through opponents, with one particularly brutal moment involving a blowtorch placed in a man’s mouth. This isn’t a turn toward quiet political intrigue. The conspiracy gives Statham another set of targets, only this time they come from his own ranks.
Timo Tjahjanto directs the sequel, which also brings back Jeremy Irons and Emmy Raver-Lampman, who returns as Agent Verona Parker. Pom Klementieff appears too, though the supplied synopsis doesn’t explain where her loyalties lie.
Nerdist’s verdict on the footage is enthusiastic: the outlet sees the sequel as delivering the blunt, violent spectacle it wants from the series. It hopes Klementieff’s character will work with Clay rather than fight him, leaving room for her to return in a possible third film. That’s a wish, not confirmation of an alliance or another sequel.
Amazon MGM Studios’ The Beekeeper 2 opens in theaters on January 15.
