Could Harrison Ford return for Air Force One sequel?

It’s been 27 years since the release of Air Force One, but could Harrison Ford still return as President James Marshall for a sequel?

“Get off my plane…again!” Harrison Ford starred in Air Force One as President James Marshall, who must retake the titular plane when a group of terrorists hijack it and take everyone hostage, including his wife and daughter. The film was a major success upon its release in 1997, grossing over $315 million worldwide. Although there’s been talk of an Air Force One sequel, nothing has come together. However, scooper Daniel Richtman says Sony Pictures is developing a follow-up, which may include the return of its leading man.

We’ll take this rumour with a big ol’ helping of salt at this point, but Richtman has heard that the studio is developing an Air Force One sequel (which could also be a reboot) and that Harrison Ford might be starring in it. This is just me spitballing, but it’s easy to imagine Marshall attending the inauguration of the new president (his daughter?) when terrorists attack, forcing the family to be evacuated on Air Force One. Rinse and repeat.

Air Force One screenwriter Andrew W. Marlowe confirmed earlier this year that there had been talks of a possible sequel but admitted that they had trouble cracking the idea. “We had talked about it, but there are always challenges with that [kind of] franchise. You get into the Die Hard problem of every time John McClane goes on vacation or goes anywhere, the terrorists take over. So we were very cautious,” Marlowe said. “We had conversations with Beacon and all the folks involved, but we never landed on a story that we thought could do justice to what we had accomplished in the main film. We had set the bar incredibly high. Harrison as as president goes someplace, he’s on an Air Force carrier, it’s attacked, he’s in the middle of an unstable geopolitical situation. And so, there are things he can and can’t do, because you don’t want to inflame it. He’s got to navigate it and he’s the person at the heart of it. There are many variations on it and with the tuning fork, we didn’t get it to the point where we are all like, “Ah, that’s perfect! We’re not repeating the first movie. We’re building on it.“

Not every successful movie needs a sequel, and I’m not convinced audiences are really clamouring for Harrison Ford to sock bad guys in the jaw at 82 years old; We’ve got Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny for that.

Would you like to see Harrison Ford return for a sequel to Air Force One?