When you get the kind of numbers that the spy action thriller Safe House grossed, which was near $202 million worldwide, it’s probably a safe bet that a studio would want to move forward with a follow-up. And that’s what Universal is doing. They have already hired the film’s original writer David Guggenheim to write a draft for what will either be a sequel or a prequel.

And why is it unclear whether it will be a sequel or a prequel? Well there are some potential spoilers that explain why, so if you haven’t seen the movie already, don’t hit the jump.

Safe House
Directed by Daniel Espinosa
Starring Denzel Washington, Ryan Reynolds, Vera Farmiga, Brendan Gleeson, Sam Shepherd and Robert Patrick
Release Date: February 10, 2012

Corruption at the top of any organization is a touchy subject for a director to be curious about. When done right, a film depicting corruption, like Polanski’s Chinatown or The Ghost Writer, is an impressive and immersive experience. Navigating through the hypocrisy and crookedness is an act of a polished director at the top of his craft who wants to enlighten audiences about reality, not entertain them. Swedish director Daniel Espinosa is introducing himself to American audiences with a hesitating and not so sharp portrait of corruption. He wants to exploit the supposed corruption occurring in intelligence units across the world, such as CIA agents and M16 agents. Instead of having a firm and confident command on a narrative structure that would get his point across, all of his energy is directed toward articulating sensational action scenes that reek of implausibility. Espinosa has an interesting foundation to build upon thanks to David Guggenheim‘s script. Coherency and logic, though, are neglected, and an overwhelming amount of dynamism is relied on to entertain audiences, dismissing words and dialogue for guns and fists of fury.

Everyone loves really cryptic teaser posters, right?

Joking aside, that’s exactly what we’ve got thanks to Moviefone today. The outlet has released the first poster for the upcoming Denzel Washington film, Safe House, and while it’s not much to look at, it’s sure not tough to stare at.