For the longest time, people were convinced that the original Bad Ass was a hoax. The trailer starring Danny Trejo, Charles S. Dutton and Ron Perlman was presumed to be fake in the Grindhouse style, and the fact that it was apparently building an action movie out of a popular Internet meme made it seem all the more unlikely. We were all wrong though: Bad Ass eventually arrived last year - albeit straight to DVD - and has obviously done well enough to earn itself a second instalment.
We're getting a long way from the source now, but if you're new here, the saga begins with a YouTube video documenting an argument on an Oakland, California bus between the 67 year-old "Epic Beard Man" Thomas Bruso (wearing a pale blue "I Am A Motherfucker" t-shirt) and a guy called Michael. It's unclear what starts the altercation, but it ends with a pummelling for Michael, after which Bruso is kicked off the bus and seen raving in the street, and Michael asks for an ambulance. His pronunciation became a thing.
Bad Ass turned that into a sort of Death Wish / Harry Brown affair, where Trejo takes the Bruso role (as "Frank Vega") and spins his initial bus confrontation into a career as a street vigilante. The sequel, according to Bloody Disgusting, follows Frank and his new oldster buddy Bernie, and is possibly called Bad Asses. The pair spring into creaky action when their young pal Manny is murdered by drug traffickers who have - get this - diplomatic immunity. That really does sound gloriously familiar.
We don't know who's playing Bernie or Manny yet, but Trejo is, of course, returning, as is Patrick Fabian (The Last Exorcism) as Officer Malark. The writer/director is once again Craig C. Moss, and shooting starts next month in Los Angeles.