Back in Action has been the biggest Netflix hit of the year to date, clocking up 147.2 million views since its January release to see it rank as the sixth most-watched Netflix movie ever.
Those are the kind of viewing figures that could lead to the streaming service confirming a sequel, and Back in Action's ending certainly sets up an intriguing sequel if Netflix choose to greenlight one.
The action-comedy sees Emily (Cameron Diaz) and Matt (Jamie Foxx) dragged back into the world of espionage when their cover is blown 15 years after they gave up being CIA spies in order to start a family.
It's their final mission that has led to their current predicament, with their former boss Chuck (Kyle Chandler) warning them that enemies are after them. Soon after, Emily and Matt find themselves on the run with their two children to protect their family.
But who is after them? Let's delve into Back in Action's ending to explain all, and also address that cliffhanger ending and whether Netflix has confirmed Back in Action 2 yet.
Major spoilers follow if you haven't seen the movie yet.
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Back in Action ending explained: Is Chuck dead?
The opening mission sees Emily and Matt steal an ICS key ("industrial control systems") from terrorist Balthazar Gor. It's a "master key" that could give whoever has it control of critical infrastructure, such as power plants and nuclear reactors.
They manage to take it successfully, but their plane home is sabotaged by terrorists working for Gor. After they survive the crash, Emily and Matt decide that enough is enough and they leave the CIA to start their family.
15 years later, their former boss Chuck visits Emily and Matt to tell them their cover is blown. He explains how the CIA never found the ICS key and that their former ally, British agent Baron, has been working with Gor to retrieve it as they think Emily and Matt still have it.
Chuck doesn't last long as he's fatally shot by an unknown assailant, leading to Emily and Matt fleeing to England and the home of Emily's estranged mum Ginny. It's where Matt hid the ICS key years ago as an "insurance policy" if their cover was blown.
Their plan is to give the ICS key to the CIA and then get the agency to protect them with immunity. Before they can do that though, terrorists attack Ginny's home and capture Emily and Matt's children.
They assume it's Baron behind it all, but it's actually Chuck. He faked his death after Emily and Matt faked their deaths and went into hiding, with Chuck taking the blame for the loss of the key.
He was fired within a year and lost everything, so lured them out of hiding as he knew they'd lead him to the key.
Chuck plans to sell it to the highest bidder that evening at an event at the Tate Modern, keeping Emily and Matt's children as leverage until the deal is done. At the meeting, Chuck gets Daphne to demonstrate the power of the ICS key by raising the Thames barrier.
Emily and Matt track Chuck to the meeting and, with the Baron's help, they manage to chase Chuck down. He attempts to use the risen Thames barrier as his escape route, still with their children as hostages, but Emily and Matt follow him in a speedboat down the Thames.
Back at the Tate Modern, Ginny's boyfriend Nigel manages to get the key back from Daphne and lowers the barrier. Emily and Matt jump onto Chuck's boat and rescue their children, jumping off the boat before Chuck realises the barrier is down. His boat crashes into it and explodes, presumably killing him.
However, in the final scene of Back in Action, Baron visits Emily and Matt to tell them that they never found Chuck's body. Could he have faked his death again? After all, it might always have been his plan to fake his death to get away with the money if the deal went wrong.
We never get a definitive answer as to whether Chuck is dead, but it seems Emily's family is the key to finding out one way or the other. "Emily, I'm gonna need you to recruit a member of your family," Baron tells them. "It's not your mum. It's your dad."
This comes as news to even Matt, who seemingly hadn't been told by Emily about her dad, but it seems he's in the spy game too. We'll have to wait for a sequel to find out who he is and how he's connected to Chuck, as Back in Action doesn't give us any clues about him.
Is there going to be a Back in Action 2?
At the time of writing, Netflix has yet to confirm a Back in Action sequel, but that doesn't mean there won't be one.
Clearly the plan is for Emily and Matt to return for another action-packed mission. However, it will likely depend on whether the movie is a big enough hit for Netflix to greenlight a sequel.
"There's certainly an idea about who the dad could be and what the whole story could be about," director Seth Gordon told EW about the cliffhanger ending.
"I think you got to believe that [Ginny] met him somewhere through work. It wouldn't be bad if he were also British. You'd have to believe that guy holding a gun. So there are certain people that you could consider for that part."
Gordon did add though that a sequel hasn't been confirmed: "[Netflix] won't even acknowledge the idea of a sequel yet! So if you put in a good word, maybe there's a chance."
Back in Action is available to watch now on Netflix.
Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
