Netflix’s Record-Setting Gritty Action Thriller Has A Sequel In The Works

Published Aug 18, 2026, 11:37 AM EDT

Ryan Northrup is a Senior Staff Writer on ScreenRant's Movie & TV News team, where he has authored nearly 5,000 articles, including features and reviews. A graduate of McMaster University, Ryan began his career in public relations before attending Vancouver Film School. There, he built lasting industry connections and optioned a feature film screenplay.

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A sequel to The Shadow Strays is in development.

Directed by Timo Tjahjanto, the Netflix action thriller released in October 2024 following a premiere at TIFF the previous month. The Shadow Strays stars Aurora Ribero as an assassin known only as 13 who sets out to rescue a young boy after being suspended from her order. Though Tjahjanto previously confirmed his intent to continue 13's story in a sequel, news on that front has been hard to come by.

Now, Tjahjanto has shared a new update on the status of The Shadow Strays 2, confirming in a post on X that he is working on the script for the movie. Though it sounds like work on the follow-up is slow-going, the director confirms that he still has some powerful themes to explore as the story continues. Check out Tjahjanto's post below:

The director calls The Shadow Strays his "most personal movie yet," and writes that he "still [has] personal stories to tell in the sequel." Tjahjanto continues: "People asked why she fought tooth n nail to save a boy she barely know, I asked them back; if you tap into your humanity & see the strength within yourself, wouldn’t you try to do the same, kindred bond knows no logic, its just is."

The Shadow Strays marked Tjahjanto's follow-up to movies like The Big 4 (2022) and May the Devil Take You Too (2020), but it was 2018's The Night Comes for Us that really established him as a filmmaker to watch in the action cinema space. The Shadow Strays was a worthy successor to this action-packed hit, earning a 91% Rotten Tomatoes score and the most nominations at the 2025 Indonesian Film Festival with 12.

Tjahjanto has worked extensively making movies in Indonesia, but he has also become a more regular presence in Hollywood. He recently directed Nobody 2 (2025), and he also directed the upcoming The Beekeeper 2, which stars Jason Statham and is due out January 15, 2027.

Even with Tjahjanto's latest positive update, it's still not clear when The Shadow Strays 2 might release. Tjahjanto shared a post in February 2025 confirming that "Shadows will return," and his latest comment marks the first major update on the project since then.

With the sequel still in the script phase, next year seems like the earliest it could begin production. This would likely mean a Shadow Strays 2 release at some point in 2028, but it could well be 2029 or beyond, depending on how long the writing process takes.

Many details remain unknown regarding the sequel to The Shadow Strays, but Ribero would presumably return to play 13. Beyond that, it's not clear who will be in the cast, but any follow-up would seemingly further explore the Shadow assassin organization she belongs to, introducing both new allies and new enemies.

• 

  Aurora Ribero

  Agent 13

• Hana Malasan

  Agent Umbra

• Ali Fikry

  Monji

• Kristo Immanuel

  Jeki