Atlas Shrugged is the little franchise that could. Well, kind of. The first two adaptations of Ayn Rand’s opus, Atlas Shrugged: Part I and Atlas Shrugged: Part II, were both box office bombs, and both were critically panned (11% and 5% on Rotten Tomatoes, respectively), but the series is going to conclude anyway when Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? premieres on September 12, 2014.
Hollywood Reporter broke the news that Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? will be released just weeks before the upcoming midterm elections in order to exploit the film’s political themes. Atlas Shrugged: Part I was released on Tax Day, 2011, and Atlas Shrugged: Part II was released just prior to the 2012 presidential election. The timing makes sense in theory, but neither of the previous films made more than $5 million at the box office.
The third film in the trilogy breaks from tradition by substituting a subtitle for the expected “Part III,” but it continues the tradition of completely recasting every major role. Atlas Shrugged: Who is John Galt? will star Laura Reardon (“Mad Men”) as Dagny Taggart, taking over for Samantha Mathis, who took over from Taylor Schilling. Rob Morrow (“Numb3rs”) will co-star as Henry Reardon, taking over for Jason Beghe, who took over from Grant Bowler. Kristoffer Polaha (“Ringer”) will play the elusive John Galt, taking over for D.B. Sweeney, who took over for Paul Johansson.
The final film in the Atlas Shrugged franchise will conclude the story of John Galt, the man who convinced the world’s leading industrialists to go on strike, challenging an increasingly socialist government and throwing the world into disarray.
William Bibbiani is the editor of CraveOnline’s Film Channel and co-host of The B-Movies Podcast. Follow him on Twitter at @WilliamBibbiani.
