Dave Bautista’s original Prime Video action movie was a major hit in early 2026, and a sequel MUST happen. Of all the actors to come from the world of WWE, Bautista has carved out one of the most interesting careers. Sure, there have been plenty of traditional Dave Bautista action movies, but even in those, he tends to bring more depth to his characters.
With a great script and director, Bautista is capable of delivering fantastic performances too, as seen in Blade Runner 2049 or Knock at the Cabin. More recently, Bautista and co-star Jason Momoa scored a No. 1 worldwide streaming movie with The Wrecking Crew. This Lethal Weapon/Tango & Cash-inspired throwback cast its two leads as estranged brothers who reunite to solve their father’s murder.
This Prime Video action movie was an unapologeticly foul-mouthed, R-rated affair that updated the buddy cop formula in some fun ways. The Wrecking Crew received solid reviews too, and its ending left the door open for more misadventures with the Hale brothers. While a most original streaming action movies end with some kind of sequel bait, the success of The Wrecking Crew makes it feel like a follow-up could really happen.
The Wrecking Crew Is Prime Video’s Biggest 2026 Hit So Far
Over six months on from its Prime debut, The Wrecking Crew is still one of the streamer’s biggest successes of 2026. Looking at its Nielsen data, it’s the fourth biggest original streaming movie of the year, with 2.9 billion minutes viewed. That makes it Prime Video’s biggest film of the year, though it trails behind Netflix heavy hitters like the number one movie, The Rip (4.4 billion minutes) or War Machine (3.5 billion minutes).
The Wrecking Crew even received uncharacteristically strong reviews for a streaming action movie, and stands at 74% on Rotten Tomatoes. In short, it was a success in just about every area. Pretty much everyone involved wants a sequel to press ahead, including director Ángel Manuel Soto, screenwriter Jonathan Tropper (Banshee) and, of course, Momoa and Bautista.
Indeed, The Wrecking Crew’s ending sees Momoa’s Jonny learning who murdered his mother, which organically sets up the next story. It feels like the biggest hurdle to a follow-up will be its leading men’s schedules. Momoa has projects like A Minecraft Movie Squared and (presumably) Fast Forever on the horizon, while Bautista has Highlander and Dreadnought.
Why The Wrecking Crew Deserves A Sequel (& Could It Happen?)
The streaming era has been a mixed bag for original action movies. For most viewers, once the initial novelty of being able to watch big-budget blockbusters from the comfort of their living rooms wore off, it was hard to escape that so many of these films are, well, quite bland. Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost War was another 2026 hit for Prime, but in contrast to The Wrecking Crew, it received bad reviews for its intensely generic story and action.
The Wrecking Crew stands out for being a colorful action comedy where the setpieces are visceral and well-staged, and the comedy is actually funny. It feels like Momoa is having the time of his life playing the hard-drinking wrecking ball that is Jonny, while Bautista brings a nice contrast as the more low-key – but still dryly funny – James.
The script provided both them and the villains with quality zingers, and while the more explosive action sequences leaned too hard on CGI, the fistfights were great. If a sequel was even 60% as much fun, it would still stand proud above the Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan: Ghost Wars or Red Notices of the world.
Despite feeling like a sure bet, there’s no promise The Wrecking Crew 2 will happen. Maybe Momoa and Bautista’s schedules won’t line up, or the creatives won’t land on a story they like; there’s also a chance Prime decides they don’t need a follow-up. That would be a shame, because based on the first entry, I could happily take two or three more of these movies.
Source: Nielsen, Rotten Tomatoes
- Release Date
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January 28, 2026
- Runtime
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124 minutes
- Director
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Ángel Manuel Soto
