3 key things to know about ‘The Accountant’ before watching the sequel

“The Accountant” franchise returns to theaters after a nine-year gap between films with most of the original cast in tow.

The first film, released in 2016, followed Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck), an accountant who has autism and works for the criminal underworld. Christian is also a vigilante, killing criminals or exposing them to the authorities when they cross a line in his moral code.

The movie was a surprise hit with audiences grossing $155 million on a $44 million budget.

While it seemed like a one-off story, “The Accountant”‘s director Gavin O’Connor and screewriter Bill Dubuque have teamed up again to for the sequel.

Anna Kendrick starred in the first film as Dana Cummings an accountant Christian saves, but will not return in the sequel. However other stars like Jon Bernthal, who plays Christian’s brother Braxton, J.K. Simmons who plays head of the finance crime squad Ray King, and Cynthia Addai-Robinson, playing federal agent Marybeth Medina, appear to have larger roles.

In the sequel, Christian is searching for a missing woman and her son after someone close to him dies while trying to carry out the investigation. Here’s what audiences should know before heading into “The Accountant 2.”

Christian reunites with his brother during a mission in the first film.

In “The Accountant,” Christian Wolff is hired to audit Living Robotics, a medical tech company about to go public, after an in-house accountant notices money missing from their bottom line.

The simple job turns lethal when Christian finds that millions of dollars have been stolen. Hitmen start killing Living Robotics’s board members and target Christian and the other accountant, Dana (Kendrick).

After saving himself and Dana from the assassins, Christian discovers Living Robotics CEO (John Lithgow) is behind the embezzled funds and attacks. Christian tracks the executive to his mansion, where he discovers his estranged brother Braxton (Bernthal) is the leader of the CEO’s hitman guards.

The brothers have been separated since Christian escaped from prison and disappeared years prior. They fight, then bury the hatchet, and Christian shoots the CEO in the head to bring the attacks to an end.

Before they depart, Christian promises Braxton a reunion.

The trailers for “The Accountant 2” show the pair working together on a new mission. It’s likely audiences will see the brothers rebuild their relationship on-screen.

Christian helps the US Financial Crime Enforcement Network catch criminals.

Christian is usually using his accountancy skills to help criminals evade the law.

However, we learn in the first film that he also works as a vigilante, reporting criminals to the US government who cross a line in his moral code — where that line is remains murky.

The second storyline of “The Accountant” involves Ray King (Simmons), the head of the US Treasury’s Financial Crime Enforcement Network, and Marybeth Medina (Addai-Robinson), a federal agent with a dark past.

Christian has been secretly tracking down criminals and sending tips to King to shut down their operations.

King forces Medina to take on the assignment of tracking down Christian, but she only succeeds in finding his house. Late, King tells Medina the assignment was a test.

King sees Medina as his replacement when he retires, but felt she needed to know Christian’s full story before accepting his help.

Medina initially disagrees, believing they shouldn’t be working with a criminal, but by the end of the film, she accepts the role and Christian’s help to expose Living Robotics.

In the trailer for the sequel, King appears to have been assassinated, forcing Medina to work face-to-face with Christian for the first time. This could be difficult for Medina since she’s already uncomfortable working with a known criminal.

Christian’s partner in crime has been recast.

In the first film, Christian has a secret partner, who helps him carry out his vigilante missions and contacts King on Christian’s behalf.

At the end of the film, the partner is revealed to be Justine, played by Alison Wright, a non-verbal autistic woman living at Harbor Neuroscience — the treatment center Christian attended as a child.

Earlier in the film, a young Christian first attends Harbor Neuroscience and meets Justine, so the reveal implies their relationship continued even after Christian’s departure.

In the first film, Wright played adult Justine, but the role has been recast. Wright is still the voice of the text-to-speech generator Justine uses to communicate, but Allison Robertson will portray Justine onscreen.

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