WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, now in theaters.
The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard follows Michael Bryce (Ryan Reynolds), a former bodyguard who has had his bodyguarding license put under review for his decision to save his frenemy, Darius Kincaid (Samuel L. Jackson), in the The Hitman’s Bodyguard. Just as he’s trying to find a semblance of peace, he gets dragged back into Kincaid’s life when his wife, Sonia (Salma Hayek), forcibly recruits Bryce to help save her captured husband.
The pair are quickly successful but end up entangled in a much larger and important mission: assisting in the capture — and keeping a piece of important technology out of the hands — of Aristotle Papadopoulos (Antonio Banderas), a wealthy figure in Greece who intends to bring chaos to all of Europe.
As they make their way across Italy and barely survive attacks from Papadopoulos’ forces, Bryce is forced to put up with Darius and Sonia’s constant conversations about wanting a child. But unbeknownst to Sonia, Darius is incapable of having children thanks to a bullet wound he received from Bryce in the previous film. The couple also develop a deeper bond with Bryce — especially Sonia, who grows to genuinely care about Bryce in a manner similar to an overbearing mother. Eventually, Sonia is captured by Papadopulous and brought aboard his yacht to witness him complete his plan — alongside his allies, now revealed to include Bryce’s step-father (Morgan Freeman), his bodyguard rival Magnusson (Tom Hopper), the assassin Zento (Kristofer Kamiyasu) and the mercenary Veronika (Gabriella Wright).
Together, the trio are able to kill Papadopulous and his agents — including Bryce’s step-father — and escape with their lives as the yacht explodes. Congratulated by Interpol agent Bobby O’Neill (Frank Grillo), Bryce initially believes the paperwork he’s told to sign will officially reinstate him as a licensed bodyguard — something his step-father had sabotaged earlier in the film. But in reality, he’s signing adoption papers. Meaning, that to Bryce and Darius’ shock (and Sonia’s joy), Bryce is now legally the “son” of the Kincaid criminals. The film ends with the trio forced onto a boat to await further instructions, with Bryce choosing to jump into the sea rather than hear Darius and Sonia “celebrate” their victory.
It’s a surprising and supremely odd way to end the film, with Sonia’s desire to give birth to a child upended with the reminder from Darius that they can just adopt. Although her one-sided bond with Bryce develops throughout the film, the final revelation makes the connection all the more bizarre. It’s also clear that O’Neill is aware of what the paperwork will legally do, and is more than happy to facilitate it to mess with Bryce. It isn’t made clear how this happened, or even what the characters genuinely think of the new status quo shunted upon them. But it also quietly sets up a potential sequel to go in a far more chaotic, and potentially fun, direction.
With his standing in the world of bodyguarding likely sunk once and for all, it would be a fun turn for Bryce to shift more towards a dangerous, freelance lifestyle that he learns to embrace with Darius at the climax of The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard. His rapport with Darius could become closer, helping soften up the old hitman towards his constantly flailing new family member. Sonia could then be the unexpected and volatile glue that holds them together, uniting the pair and turning them into a genuinely dangerous group of mercenaries. It could allow the filmmakers to embrace the wackier sides of the film, which were definite highlights. It’s a wild ending, but one that could actually set up the potential for future films in a fun way.
Directed by Patrick Hughes, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard stars Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson, Salma Hayek, Antonio Banderas, Morgan Freeman, Frank Grillo, Caroline Goodall, Rebecca Front, Gabriella Wright, Alice McMillan, Kristofer Kamiyasu, Tom Hopper, Blake Ritson and Richard E. Grant. The film is out now in theaters.
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