'Olympus Has Fallen 2' to heat next year

 
Domestic distribution rights to London Has Fallen, the sequel to last year's White House-under-attack actioner starring Gerard Butler, have been acquired by Focus Features, the company said Thursday.

A release date of Oct. 2, 2015 has been slated for the sequel, which returns Butler as a former secret service agent. The action in the sequel is kick started when the prime minister of Britain dies "under mysterious circumstances."
Aaron Eckhart will reprise his role as the President of the United States, while Morgan Freeman will return as Speaker Allan Trumbell.
Olympus Has Fallen, which was budgeted at an estimated $70 million, was released on March 22, 2013 by FilmDistrict and grossed over $160 million worldwide in theaters.
Antoine Fuqua directed the title, which was one of two films -- the other being Sony's box office disappointment White House Down -- that were released within several months of each other and depicted the destruction of the White House.
The sequel will be written by Olympus Has Fallen writers Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt along with Christian Gudegast.