Credit: Netflix

Netflix has officially given War Machine 2 the green light, and are you even shocked? Because we aren’t! In fact, most people saw it coming long ago, and it is only natural after War Machine turned into one of the biggest original film successes Netflix has ever had.

Director Patrick Hughes is coming back to direct and co-write the sequel alongside James Beaufort, which is probably exactly what fans wanted to hear. Since landing on Netflix back on March 26, War Machine has racked up a massive 139 million views. Read that again. One hundred and thirty-nine million. The film has already forced its way into Netflix’s all-time Top 10 most-watched original movies and currently sits at number ten on the list.

Not bad for a film about soldiers getting thrown into absolute carnage, right? The success is another huge win for both Netflix and Alan Ritchson, who has recently become one of the biggest action stars around. Over the years, Netflix has spent fortunes on action films. Some have done well. Some have disappeared into thin air. But War Machine? Different story altogether. This one found an audience and then just kept finding more. Before long, it was everywhere.

If you somehow missed it, here is the plot: the original film follows a group of recruits going through the final stage of an elite special operations training program. Sounds straightforward enough, doesn’t it? A bit of military training, and that’s it! Yeah… Not quite. Though it starts as a training mission, before you know it, it turns into something much worse when the recruits come face-to-face with a mysterious threat that nobody saw coming.

Alan Ritchson leads the cast as one of the soldiers forced to adapt when everything goes horribly wrong. The movie throws together military action, science fiction horror, and survival thriller elements, which is mad if you think about it, but as far as it works, we are here for it. No wonder people got hooked!

Even though the first movie wrapped up its main story, it also left plenty of doors open for another chapter. Which, if we’re being honest, is exactly what Netflix loves seeing. The streamer has spent the last few years looking for original franchises it can build on rather than one-and-done hits. Finding a film that pulls in 139 million views and leaves audiences wanting more? That’s basically the dream scenario for Netflix folks.

At the moment, details about War Machine 2 are being kept under wraps. We don’t have a release date or production schedule. Not even an official plot synopsis. But with Hughes returning, there is a decent chance the sequel will stick to the formula that worked the first time around.

The biggest question now is where the story goes next. Do they go further into the origins of the mysterious threat from the first film? Do they introduce an entirely new mission? Maybe a new squad? Maybe both? Whatever direction they choose, fans are going to want answers. For Netflix, though, this decision is probably one of the easiest they’ve made all year.

Fans might have to wait a bit longer before the proper details start dropping, but they are happy that War Machine 2 is officially marching into battle.