The MacManus brothers are basically the kings of the "cult classic" bargain bin. If you grew up in the early 2000s, you probably had a poster of Connor and Murphy MacManus on your dorm room wall, right next to Pulp Fiction. It’s been a wild ride. For years, rumors about The Boondock Saints 3 movie felt like a pipe dream—a mix of legal drama, ego clashes, and "development hell" that usually kills a franchise dead. But things shifted recently. We aren't just talking about another "maybe" post on a message board.
There’s actual movement.
Why the wait for The Boondock Saints 3 movie took fifteen years
Money and egos. That’s the short version.
To understand why a third film took forever, you have to look at the wreckage of the first two. The original 1999 film was famously blacklisted from theaters because of its proximity to the Columbine tragedy and the "difficult" reputation of creator Troy Duffy. Overnight, a documentary about Duffy’s rise and fall, is essentially a textbook on how to burn bridges in Hollywood. When the sequel, All Saints Day, dropped in 2009, it didn't exactly set the world on fire. It doubled down on the camp and the violence but lacked that lightning-in-a-bottle gritty feel of the original.
For a decade, fans heard the same story. Duffy was writing it. Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery were down. Then nothing. People move on. Norman Reedus became one of the biggest stars on television thanks to The Walking Dead. Sean Patrick Flanery kept busy with The Boys and martial arts. The window seemed shut.
Then came 2024.
The biggest bombshell dropped: The Boondock Saints 3 movie is officially moving forward with Thunder Road—the production powerhouse behind John Wick. But there's a massive catch that has the fanbase split right down the middle.
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A new direction: The "John Wick" influence
The news that Thunder Road is taking the reins is huge. Honestly, it’s the best thing that could happen to the franchise. If you want stylized, high-octane violence that actually looks good on a modern screen, you get the people who made Baba Yaga a household name.
But here is the kicker. Troy Duffy is out.
Reports from Deadline and other industry insiders confirmed that while Duffy will write a series of books about the Saints, he isn’t directing the new film. For some, this is sacrilege. For others, it’s a relief. The MacManus brothers—Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery—are not just starring; they are helping shepherd the project. This feels like a "reimagining" rather than a straight-up sequel. It’s described as an expansion of the universe.
Think about it. The original films were very "of their time." The shaky cam, the 90s slow-mo, the heavy-handed religious imagery. Today’s audiences want something sleeker. With Thunder Road involved, we can expect the action choreography to jump from "bar room brawl" to "tactical ballet."
What do we actually know about the plot?
Not a lot.
But we can piece it together. At the end of the second film, Connor and Murphy were stuck in prison. Their father, "The Duke" (played by the legendary Billy Connolly), was dead. The brothers are older now. They aren't the young punks in pea coats anymore. They are grizzled.
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The working title has floated around as The Boondock Saints III: Legion. The idea is that their brand of vigilantism has spread. It’s no longer just two guys in Boston. It’s a movement. This allows the producers to bring in younger actors while keeping Reedus and Flanery as the "elder statesmen" of the underground. It’s a smart move. It solves the problem of "how do two fifty-year-old guys jump off buildings?" without making it look ridiculous.
The Norman Reedus factor
Let's be real. Without Norman Reedus, there is no The Boondock Saints 3 movie.
Reedus has a loyal following that most actors would kill for. His involvement is the only reason a studio would touch this IP in 2026. He’s been vocal about wanting to do it "the right way." In various interviews, he’s mentioned that the third film needs to go back to the roots—less of the caricature stuff and more of the "two brothers against the world" grit.
The chemistry between Reedus and Flanery is the soul of the franchise. If you’ve ever seen them at a convention, you know it’s not an act. They genuinely love these characters. That passion is what kept the project alive during the years when no one in Hollywood would take a meeting about it.
Addressing the "Cult Classic" baggage
The Boondock Saints is a divisive property. Critics generally hate it. They call it a Tarantino rip-off. They call it juvenile.
But fans? Fans treat it like gospel.
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The challenge for the third movie is threading the needle between satisfying the die-hards and making a movie that isn't an embarrassing relic of the 2000s. You can’t just do the same "Veritas" and "Aequitas" tropes without evolving. The world has changed. The way we look at vigilantes in cinema has changed. We’ve had The Punisher on Netflix. We’ve had The Boys. The "cool guys with guns" trope needs a fresh coat of paint.
Production hurdles and the "When"
We are looking at a likely 2026 or 2027 release window if production schedules hold. Hollywood is currently in a state of flux with strikes and budget tightening, but "mid-budget" action movies are actually the safest bet for studios right now. They don't need a $200 million Avengers budget to turn a profit.
The Saints have always been a low-budget, high-return asset on home video and streaming. That’s the leverage.
What happens next for fans
If you're waiting for this movie, stop looking for a trailer. It doesn't exist yet. Instead, look at the casting calls. The biggest sign of progress will be when they announce the "new" saints who will likely be joining the MacManus brothers.
Here is how you should track the progress of the film to avoid the fake news:
- Follow Thunder Road’s official announcements. Don’t trust "fan leaks" on Reddit. If Basil Iwanyk (the producer) isn't talking about it, it's not real yet.
- Watch Norman Reedus’ production company, bigbaldhead. He is heavily involved in the creative side this time around.
- Check the trades for "The Boondock Saints" rights auctions. Sometimes these movies get stuck in legal limbo because of who owns the international distribution.
- Keep an eye on Sean Patrick Flanery's social media. He’s often the first to drop "training" photos when a project is about to go into pre-production.
The reality is that The Boondock Saints 3 movie is closer now than it has been in fifteen years. The shift away from Troy Duffy was the "break glass in case of emergency" move that finally cleared the path. It sucks for the purists, but it’s the only way the movie gets made in the current climate.
Expect a darker, more professional, and likely more violent entry. The brothers are coming back, but they aren't coming back to the Boston you remember. They are coming back to a world that has already embraced their brand of chaos.
Your best move right now is to revisit the original 1999 film—not the sequel—to remember why people cared in the first place. The raw energy of that first film is what the producers are trying to recapture. If they can channel even half of that into a modern production, we might actually get the trilogy closer we’ve been waiting for. Keep your eyes on the trades for "principal photography" dates, which are the only real confirmation that cameras are finally rolling.