In 1989’s “Road House,” the suave chiller named Dalton (played with aplomb by Patrick Swayze) told his crew that the most important rule of nightclub safety was “to be nice…until it’s time not to be.” Apparently, that moment has arrived for Doug Liman, who directed the 2024 remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal as Dalton. This film was made for Amazon MGM Studios, and Liman metaphorically got his hands on the fact that the film went straight to Prime Video against his express wishes. The director even wrote an op-ed for Deadline criticizing the streamer, to no avail. The film ultimately did well enough for Prime Video to order a sequel, with Gyllenhaal returning and Ilya Naishuller taking over as director.
Apparently tensions between Liman and Amazon aren’t over, because in a bizarre turn of events, the filmmaker appears to be exploiting a nearly 40-year-old loophole that he claims allows him to make a parallel, competing sequel. According to Deadline, Liman acquired the rights to make a sequel to his “Road House” separate from Naishuller’s, based on a federal lawsuit currently pending over ownership of the franchise. This lawsuit alleges that one of the original screenwriters of the 1989 film, R. Lance Hill (under the pseudonym David Lee Henry), allegedly wrote that film in the mid-’80s to spec, and that Hill then reclaimed the copyright in November 2023. Thus, the 2024 remake (Liman’s own film, mind you) would be considered an infringement of Hill’s rights, even if Liman and Hill attempt to create their own independent sequel to the movie. this remake titled “Road House: Dylan”. Thanks to the yet-to-be-settled lawsuit, we could either never see this film or find ourselves facing multiple sequels sanctioned for the same remake.
The ‘Road House’ franchise keeps tearing itself out
This all seems incredibly confusing and messy, but that’s apparently normal when it comes to “Road House.” The 1989 original, directed by Rowdy Herrington, became infamous thanks to its questionable charms; a mix of western, noir and martial arts films with an “Urban Cowboy” blues-rock twist. No one attempted to make a sequel until 2006 with the direct-to-video sequel “Road House 2.” This sequel killed Dalton off-screen, made Jonnathon Schaech the son of Dalton’s DEA agent, and basically disappeared from most people’s minds the moment they saw it. Clearly, “Road House” was not a formulaic film that could easily be repeated.
That didn’t stop Liman from directing his remake, a venture that came at the end of MGM (now Amazon MGM Studios), cannibalizing its catalog for spotty remakes, a la 2014’s “Robocop” and 2019’s “Child’s Play.” The film transformed Dalton from a mysterious, nomadic figure with a checkered past into a former UFC middleweight crook, and the resulting film ended up being a muddled, confusing film. confusing experience, something Jacob Hall of /FILm called “a first draft.” While Naishuller’s “Road House 2” appears to be much more on track, with a cool supporting cast of Dave Bautista, Aldis Hodge and Leila George, Liman and Hill’s “Dylan” appears to be up to his old missteps again. After all, who is this Dylan, Dalton’s replacement? Will Liman and Hill take a cue from 2006’s “Road House 2” and reveal that Dylan is Dalton’s parent? Or does the subtitle promise something more convoluted, like a “Karate Kid Legends” style folding the remake’s continuity into the world of the original film?
Whatever happens, it all gives a headache, which, frankly, isn’t very pleasant.
