Hollywood loves to revive franchises with sequels no one asked for, so it shouldn’t have come as a surprise that one of Ryan Reynold’s least popular films was set to get a sequel with R. I. P. D. 2 : Rise of the Damned. In 2013, Reynolds starred in the first R.I.P.D. (short for Rest in Peace Department), a film that was clearly aiming to captivate fans of films like Men in Black and Zomebieland. The film was based on a little known comic created by Peter M. Lenkov in 1999 and starred an ensemble cast consisting of actors like Kevin Bacon, Jeff Bridges, Mary Louise Parker, and James Hong.
In the first R.I.P.D., Reynolds starred as Nick Walker, a deceased police officer from Boston who is recruited into the eponymous R.I.P.D. where he is tasked with capturing “Deados,” dead souls who escaped eternal judgement. Nick must partner up with a sheriff from the Old West named Roicephus Pulsipher, or just “Roy” for short, played by Bridges. However, the two stars are notably absent from Rise of the Damned, which premiered on Netflix last November.
There’s several reasons why Reynolds didn’t return for Rise of the Damned, the most obvious being the original film performed poorly (to put it nicely) in the box office. R.I.P.D. had a reported budget of as high as $150 million and only made $78 million in the box office, causing Universal to lose nearly half the money they put into the film. Even if Reynolds was interested in returning, it’s unlikely Universal would be willing to pay his salary, which has no doubt only risen in the decade since the film was released.
Additionally, Rise of the Damned is only a sequel in name; the film is set in the late 1800s and serves as Roy’s origin story. Although the plot follows Bridge’s character from the first film, Jeffrey Donovan plays a younger Roy (don’t ask us how aging works in the afterlife) in the sequel. Given the 2013 film was poorly received by audiences — it has a 12% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes —we can’t imagine Bridges was enthusiastic about reprising his role.
When Rise of the Damned‘s trailer dropped, many were shocked Universal was investing in a new film when the original R.I.P.D. was critically and commercially unsuccessful. Evidently, Universal was right to see worth in reviving the franchise; Rise of the Damned entered Netflix’s top 10 upon release and renewed interest has even helped breathe new life into R.I.P.D., helping the film reach the top five on Netflix’s most-watched chart.