Summary

• Summit announced Red 3 in 2013 before Red 2 was even released, but it never materialized due to declining ratings and box office returns.
• Bruce Willis' retirement from acting marks the end of any possibility for Red 3, leading to no ongoing development for the film.
• The Red TV series announced in 2015 may be the only potential future for the franchise, but even that seems unlikely due to lack of updates.

The 2010 action thriller Red is a loose adaptation of the Warren Ellis and Cully Hamner comic series of the same name, and the first movie was successful enough to warrant a sequel, but Red 3 never arrived despite rumors of its development. The franchise featured an all-star cast including Bruce Willis, Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman, and John Malkovich, all playing aging spies pushed back into action when their own organization attempted to eradicate them.

Red saw the retired special operatives targeted for assassination (with Karl Urban as the hitman in the first movie) for unknown reasons. The movie was a solid hit upon release, with Red 2 following three years later. Catherine Zeta-Jones and Lee Byung-hun ed the cast, but despite a bigger budget, the sequel received mixed reviews and grossed less than its predecessor. It capped off a trinity of sequels for Willis in 2013, including A Good Day To Die Hard and G.I. Joe: Retribution. However, while the first two movies scored a profit, Red 3 never happened.

Red 3 Was Announced In 2013

The Sequel Was Announced Before Red 2 Was Released

In a sign the studio had confidence in the then- second entry, Summit sent Red 3 into development in May 2013. Writers Jon and Erich Hoeber signed on to pen the third movie, with production eyed for 2014. However, the announcement arrived before Red 2 hit theaters and was based on high audience test scores (via THR). The idea at the time was that Willis, Mirren, Malkovich, and Freeman would all return, with Lionsgate president of production, Erik Feig, overseeing the film.

A Red TV Series Was Put Into Development In 2015

The Hoeber Brothers Returned For A More Grounded Approach

Red 3 was likely shelved following the mediocre critical and financial reception of the second film, but in 2015, it was confirmed that the Hoeber brothers were instead developing a Red TV show at NBC (via Deadline). While the studio never confirmed the cast for the potential series, it was doubtful stars like Bruce Willis or Helen Mirren would have returned. However, reports indicate the series would retain the same concept as the movies but with a more grounded and authentic world compared to the more comedic action movies.

Why Red 3 Is Likely Never Going To Happen

Bruce Willis Has Retired & No Development Is Ongoing

There has been no news on Red 3 since its initial announcement in 2013. A big reason was that the movie was put into development before the studio saw the response to Red 2. That second movie saw the Rotten Tomatoes score drop from a certified fresh 72% to a rotten 45%. While the critics' scores are not the main reason that a studio will greenlight or cancel a movie, it also made over $45 million less at the box office, which showed diminishing returns.

Bruce Willis, the main star of the series, has now retired from acting.

An even bigger reason the movie won't get made is that, while some of the actors are still available to work on the sequel, Bruce Willis, the main star of the series, has retired from acting. Without Bruce Willis, there is almost no chance that the third movie will ever be made. Willis was diagnosed with frontotemporal dementia, which has caused memory loss, struggles to speak, and comprehension difficulties. With his retirement, most franchises centered on Willis have officially ended in their current formats, including Red.

If the Red franchise has a future, it will likely come as a movie or TV reboot with no original cast member returning. However, there has been no news on the development of the TV series since its announcement in 2015, so that has likely ended as well. Also, the Hoeber brothers are still working. After taking a five-year break after Red 2, they wrote The Meg, Meg 2: The Trench, My Spy, My Spy: The Eternal City, and Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. They have moved on, and Red 3 does not appear to be in the cards.