The A-Team Director Admits the 1 Reason Why the Movie Flopped (Exclusive)

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Joe Carnahan, the director of the 2010 A-Team movie, recently explained why the film didn’t succeed and a sequel never happened. He shared his exciting plans for how A-Team 2 could have started, but also admitted the first movie “blew it.” Despite earning $77.2 million in the US, the film underperformed for 20th Century Fox and didn’t meet expectations, especially considering it came more than 15 years after the original A-Team series.

While promoting his latest movie, The Rip, Carnahan told TopMob he’d been asked about potential ideas for a follow-up to The A-Team.

Carnahan explained that the sequel would have quickly focused on Hannibal, played by Liam Neeson, with a shocking reveal. The camera would pull back to show him leading a team of sled dogs… in the Sahara Desert! He’d be on his way to rescue Bradley Cooper’s character, Face.

I had a fantastic opening scene for ‘A-Team 2’. It showed Hannibal traveling across a bright, white landscape on sled dogs. The camera then pulled back to reveal he was actually in the Sahara Desert – running sled dogs in the middle of the desert! He eventually arrives at a fortress where Face has been taken hostage.

So, apparently, in Carnahan’s vision for the movie, Hannibal had this really clever plan to spring Face. Instead of guns and explosions, he was going to win Face’s freedom at the blackjack table! He was betting against this shadowy character called “The Shape,” and the stakes weren’t bullets, but a Lamborghini and other seriously high-end stuff. It’s a cool twist – Hannibal using luxury as leverage instead of firepower.

The story kicks off with him needing to confront The Shape, and it’s going to happen over a game of blackjack. He arrives with a Lamborghini and a bunch of items to trade for Face, but instead of a direct exchange, they’ll settle things with a card game. That’s how the sequel begins.

Director John Carnahan directly explained why The A-Team didn’t perform as well as hoped, primarily blaming the film’s marketing. He stated the biggest issue was when the movie was released, as The Karate Kid came out around the same time and significantly outperformed it.

We really missed the mark this time, honestly. Our launch date was terrible – we opened on the same day as the World Cup, and the movie ‘Karate Kid’ completely overshadowed us.

You know, I was just talking about box office numbers, and it’s pretty clear The Karate Kid really delivered. I mean, the Jaden Smith and Jackie Chan film pulled in a whopping $30 million more on its opening weekend than The A-Team did. It’s a significant difference, and shows just how much people were excited to see that movie!

Even though the movie didn’t do very well in theaters, Carnahan says many people have told him they really enjoyed it. He admitted he was disappointed they weren’t able to make a sequel.

It’s too bad we didn’t get a sequel, because that movie really resonated with people – I constantly hear how much they love it. Plus, the score by Alan Silvestri, before he did the Avengers films, was fantastic. It was disappointing not to continue the story.

This announcement comes more than 12 years after director Sam Raimi tweeted that a follow-up film wouldn’t happen because the original didn’t earn enough at the box office.

Just to be clear, and I really appreciate everyone’s enthusiasm for the movie, but there won’t be a sequel to ‘The A-Team.’ It simply didn’t earn enough money to justify another one.

Despite this, Liam Neeson continues to appear in action films, including sequels to Taken, The Grey directed by Carnahan, and the recent Naked Gun reboot, which unfortunately trimmed its most humorous moment.

I just finished watching The Rip on Netflix, and it’s great! It’s director Carnahan’s newest film, and it’s cool knowing that whether or not they make a sequel doesn’t depend on how it does in theaters anymore. What’s even more exciting is that it brings Ben Affleck and Matt Damon back together, and they’re reportedly going to star as Odysseus in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming film based on The Odyssey – it looks like it’s going to be a huge year for them!

Why Fans Still Want An A-Team 2

As Carnahan pointed out, people love the movie The A-Team because it captures the same fun, knowingly ridiculous spirit as the original television show.

People who liked the first movie – it has a 66% audience approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes – see it as a lighthearted and enjoyable action film, perfect for repeated viewings, rather than the beginning of a complex series.

So, while a continuation of that older story could likely do well on streaming platforms, there aren’t currently any plans to make one.

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2026-02-03 23:36