Warning: Major spoilers for Paris Has Fallen below!Has Fallen movie trilogy, but Paris Has Fallen takes the series in a very different direction by moving to television.

The spinoff still has all the action and one-liners, but it's able to spend more time developing the protagonists too. Paris Has Fallen feels more like 24 than the movie series that spawned it, with its cast constantly racing against the clock while getting into periodic gunfights and car chases. It even avoids the Has Fallen movie staple of destroying landmarks, while Paris Has Fallen's characters are far more vulnerable than Butler's human tank, Banning.

Vincent and Zara from Paris Has Fallen looking intense, with Sean Harris' Pearce

Paris Has Fallen Ending Explained

Paris Has Fallen season 1's finale sees the fate of the entire city in the balance, but do Vincent and Zara stop Pearce's plan in time?

Posts

Paris Has Fallen Was Smart To Have No References To The Movie Trilogy

The Has Fallen offshoot has zero easter eggs for fans to catch

an image of Aaron Eckhart laid over the Angel Has Fallen Poster, which has Gerard Butler looking somber

Paris Has Fallen might be an official spinoff of the films, but in a shock move, it includes no reference to them whatsoever. It doesn't mention major characters like Presidents Asher (Aaron Eckhart) or Trumbull (Morgan Freeman), or the wave of terrorist attacks that hit the British capital in London Has Fallen. There's such little connective tissue a case could made the TV series takes place in its own separate world from the Butler films. This is an unusual approach, but Paris Has Fallen was right to do this.

Every Has Fallen Movie & TV Show	Release Year	Rotten Tomatoes Rating
Olympus Has Fallen	2013	50%
London Has Fallen	2016	28%
Angel Has Fallen	2019	38%
Paris Has Fallen	2024	86%

The story it's telling has little to do with the movies, so any references would have felt crowbarred in for the sake of it. The Has Fallen movies tell very American stories, but as the title of the spinoff indicates, things have gotten far more European. The action is more scaled back and grounded, and the stakes aren't quite as apocalyptic. This helps Paris Has Fallen establish its own identity within the property - but without feeling like a cheaper version of its big-screen predecessors.

... the spinoff is better for resisting the temptation to include awkward callbacks to the Has Fallen films.

It's difficult to think of a moment the show could have organically referenced the movies, outside a surprise phone call with Freeman's President Trumbull. Even that would have felt like distracting fan service, and the spinoff is better for resisting the temptation to include awkward callbacks.

Gerard Butler's Rumored Paris Has Fallen Cameo Didn't Happen

Butler is still attached to the fourth movie, Night Has Fallen

Is Gerard Butler Mike Banning In Paris Has Fallen — Custom Image by Simone Ashmoore

The Has Fallen films all arrived three years apart from one another, but Butler hasn't returned to the series since 2019. Butler is still attached to Paris Has Fallen as producer, but while there were reports he might cameo as Banning, that didn't come to . Again, there are no real references to the films to be found, and it would be tough to devise a way for him to have appeared regardless.

While Banning is established to have some ties to MI6 during the events of London Has Fallen, and the show's co-protagonist is MI6 operative Zara (Ritu Arya), it still would have made little sense for them to Banning Perhaps there was a plan for Banning to appear that didn't work out due to Butler's busy schedule, or maybe producers wanted to leave all their options open for a potential fourth film. The next planned movie is dubbed Night Has Fallen, though little has been said of the sequel in many years.

Gerard Butler has two sequels on his slate: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera and Greenland: Migration.

Paris Has Fallen Season 2 Could Still Tie Into The Movies

The next chapter of the Has Fallen series could tie the movies and show together

Right or wrong, Paris Has Fallen decided to stand on its own feet without leaning on the Butler movies. While a second season hasn't been greenlit, the finale suggests the villainous DCX Capital will be moving to Africa next to cause more chaos. This could establish the show as more of a globe-hopping affair, though another season could still link into the films. Butler is unlikely to play a major role, but season two could still have guest appearances by the likes of Eckhart as former President Asher or even reveal that DCX had a hand in the attacks shown in movies.

While the films and the show share DNA, it's also possible for newcomers to enjoy Paris Has Fallen as its own beast.

There are ways to crossover between the two entities that don't have to be cringe-worthy, but for now, it feels like the spinoff is on its own trajectory. Paris Has Fallen proved to be a pulpy and enjoyable action thriller in its own right, and future seasons could easily continue in the same vein. With the theatrical side of the property seemingly having stalled, the transition to television was a wise one. While the films and the show share DNA, it's also possible for newcomers to enjoy Paris Has Fallen as its own beast.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes