It was announced a little while back that a sequel to Ron Howard’s 1991 firefighter drama Backdraft was on the way. But I for one didn’t catch that particular news bit. It’s something that actually sounds like a joke considering how long ago the first movie came out, but according to the calendar we’re still a few weeks from April Fools’ Day.

It’s no joke. Backdraft 2 is indeed on the way. And a trailer has been released to prove its existence, which can be found below. It’s not a completely unrelated movie just using the title to get some more attention, either. This is a direct sequel, which includes original stars William Baldwin and Donald Sutherland reprising their roles.

Also starring in the movie is Joe Anderson, who plays the son of Kurt Russell’s character from the original, as well as Alisha Bailey, Jessamine-Bliss Bell, Aaron McCusker, and Cyril Nri.

SYNOPSIS:

Fire investigator Sean McCaffrey (Joe Anderson), son of the late Steven “Bull” McCaffrey, is now working at the same Chicago firehouse along with his uncle Brian (William Baldwin). When Sean is assigned to investigate a deadly fire, he and partner Maggie soon realize that they are dealing with something much more than a routine fire. The clues they discover lead them down a treacherous path of arson, murder, and international terrorism. Sean must use his intuition, along with the help of infamous jailed arsonist Ronald Bartel (Donald Sutherland), in a race to find out who is behind the fire and stop them from accomplishing their devious plans.

The sequel is directed by Gonzalo López-Gallego, whose previous credits include Apollo 18, Open Grave, and The Hollow Point. As for who wrote the screenplay, well, I’m not sure. The only credited writer is Gregory Widen, who penned the original, and that’s only a “based on characters created by” credit. So apparently there was no script. Everyone just showed up and went for it. Should be interesting. That may explain why it’s a direct-to-video title.

Backdraft 2 will be released on digital, Blu-ray, and DVD on May 14th. A two-movie collection including the original is also being released on DVD on the same day, if interested.

Trailer

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