“She’s 100% In” – The Accountant 2 Director Teases Anna Kendrick’s Return for Third Film

While The Accountant 2 has brought Ben Affleck’s Christian Wolff back to the big screen, fans were quick to notice a major absence: Anna Kendrick’s Dana Cummings. Now, director Gavin O’Connor is setting the record straight — and offering hope that Kendrick could be back for the franchise’s third chapter.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, O’Connor explained that Kendrick’s absence from the sequel was intentional from the outset. “When [screenwriter] Bill Dubuque and I started talking about the second movie, it was very important that we didn’t want a love story,” O’Connor said. “We wanted a love story with brothers. We wanted to do a 48 Hours or Midnight Run kind of buddy picture.”

Indeed, The Accountant 2 shifts its focus to Christian’s relationship with his brother Braxton (Jon Bernthal), steering away from the romantic elements that added emotional texture to the 2016 original. However, O’Connor teased that Kendrick’s Dana is still very much a part of the franchise’s future plans. “The third movie, which is what the plan has always been, is for [Christian’s] quest for love and connection to be consummated,” he shared. “I don’t know what that’s going to be yet, but that’s the intention.”

Further fueling fan excitement, O’Connor told The New York Times that he’s had “preliminary conversations” with Kendrick about reprising her role. Affleck, present during the interview, chimed in playfully: “We’re hoping she still likes us.” O’Connor reassured him — and fans — by revealing, “Actually, Ben, she and I have been texting. She said she’s a hundred per cent in if we want.”

Kendrick’s return would be a major boost for the franchise, especially after The Accountant 2‘s underwhelming box office performance, earning just $25 million against an $80 million budget — a stark contrast to the first film’s impressive $155 million haul from a modest $44 million budget.

In the meantime, Kendrick has kept busy with projects that are deeply personal to her. She recently directed and starred in Netflix’s Woman of the Hour, a true crime drama she called the “most revealing piece of work” she’s ever done. Up next, Kendrick will reunite with Blake Lively in Another Simple Favor, the sequel to their stylish 2018 hit.

While The Accountant 2 received mixed reviews — The Independent’s Clarisse Loughrey awarded it just two stars, criticizing its depiction of autism — the potential return of Kendrick in a third installment offers the promise of a narrative pivot toward deeper emotional ground, reconnecting with the spirit that made the first film resonate so strongly with audiences.

For now, fans will have to wait, but signs point toward Christian Wolff finally getting the love story he deserves — and Kendrick’s Dana Cummings could be at the heart of it.