Netflix has confirmed that production has officially begun on a sequel to Ad Vitam, the French action thriller that became one of the streamer’s biggest global hits. Guillaume Canet is returning to lead the film, which currently carries the working title Ad Vitam Eternam.
According to its official synopsis, the sequel picks up after Franck survives an assassination attempt following his release from prison. Determined to find out who wants him dead, he goes into hiding with his family in the mountains, only for French intelligence services to track him down. They offer him a deal: a covert mission in exchange for the truth he is seeking.
Guillaume Canet reprises his role as Franck Lazareff, the former special agent whose particular set of skills first drove the franchise. He is joined by returning cast members Stephane Caillard, Nassim Lyes and Zita Hanrot, reprising their roles from the first film.
The sequel also brings in three notable new additions: Nicolas Duvauchelle, Sophie Marceau and Mathieu Amalric. Duvauchelle, a French actor known for playing Theo across three seasons of the crime drama Braquo, has also appeared in Lightweight and worked with actress Béatrice Dalle on Trouble Every Day and Inside.
Marceau, one of France’s most recognizable actresses, first broke through internationally with Braveheart before playing Elektra King in the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough. She has continued building a wide-ranging European film career in the decades since.
Amalric, a César and Lumière Award-winning actor and filmmaker, is best known internationally for playing the villain Dominic Greene opposite Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace. He has also appeared in Steven Spielberg’s Munich, Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch, as well as delivering an acclaimed lead performance in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly.
Ludovic Colbeau-Justin, known for Néro: The Assassin, directs the sequel, taking over from the first film’s director, Rodolphe Lauga. The screenplay is written by Maxime Chattam alongside the first film’s writer, David Corona, with Guillaume Canet himself also contributing to the script.
The original Ad Vitam, released on January 10, 2025, followed Franck Lazareff, a former special agent forced back into action to rescue his kidnapped, heavily pregnant wife. Directed by Rodolphe Lauga from a script he co-wrote with Guillaume Canet, the film ran for 97 minutes and quickly drew comparisons to a blend of Taken and Jason Bourne.
Despite holding a “rotten” score of just 38% on Rotten Tomatoes, Ad Vitam defied its critical reception to become a massive streaming success, drawing 54 million views within its first month alone. The film has since climbed into Netflix’s all-time Top 10 Most Popular Non-English Movies list globally, with more than 63.1 million views and 103 million hours viewed to date, placing it alongside other major non-English Netflix hits such as Troll, Society of the Snow and The Platform.
With filming now underway and a cast blending the franchise’s original stars with major new additions such as Sophie Marceau and Mathieu Amalric, Ad Vitam Eternam is shaping up to be one of Netflix’s most anticipated international action sequels, building on a first installment that proved audience appetite can outweigh critical reception by a wide margin.
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