Olympus Has Fallen both featuring terrorists seizing the White House. Olympus Has Fallen cost less than half of its rival and carried a hard R-rating, but the movie was the clear winner of the fight as White House Down just about covered its production costs. Neither movie received warm reviews either, but audiences took to Olympus Has Fallen's blunt but effective hero Mike Banning, played by Gerard Butler.
The movie's success quickly led to Has Fallen movie series has proven robust, which is especially rare for a big-budget, R-rated franchise nowadays. In addition to a fourth movie currently dubbed Night Has Fallen being in development, a TV series spin-off is also planned.
One of the endearing things about the first two Has Fallen movies was the friendship between Secret Service Agent Banning and President Benjamin Asher, played by Aaron Eckhart. Butler and Eckhart shared great chemistry, and while their shared screentime was brief in Olympus Has Fallen, one of the highlights of London Has Fallen is that they were paired for most of the story. Before the third movie, Eckhart made it clear he won't be returning and that Asher would be retired and off playing golf. Considering the timeline of the series - and the fact Asher was succeeded by his former Vice President Allan Trumbull (Morgan Freeman) in Angel Has Fallen - this made sense, but his presence was still missed. For that reason, Night Has Fallen should find a way to bring Aaron Eckhart back to the series.
Just because Asher is retired doesn't mean he can't play an active role in another entry or someone that Banning turns to for help. Given all that the latter has done for Eckhart's former President - including saving him and his son multiple times - Asher would no doubt be a useful ally. Eckhart also got to do a little bit of action in London Has Fallen, so Night Has Fallen could let him exercise his action hero muscles a little more instead of needing to be saved constantly.
Sadly, plot details on the in-development Night Has Fallen are currently thin on the ground, but one thing Angel Has Fallen was missing was a lack of returning cast. Only Butler and Freeman returned, and while Asher wasn't necessary to the story of the third movie, it felt lacking without him somehow. Aaron Eckhart's return would be most welcome to the series, especially if it builds further on the bromance between Banning and Asher. While some could argue Asher getting involved in the main action again stretches credibility, it wouldn't be the first time the series has done so either.
