Last call for Ryan Reynolds and Salma Hayek's R-rated Hitman's Bodyguard films — both leave Netflix on 1 October
The Hitman’s Bodyguard and Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, with Ryan Reynolds, Samuel L. Jackson and Salma Hayek, have a few days left on Netflix.
If you like your action comedies loud, chaotic and aggressively silly, bad news: Netflix is about to ruthlessly axe both entries in The Hitman’s Bodyguard franchise. That’s the Ryan Reynolds/Samuel L. Jackson movies where nobody can get through five minutes without shooting, swearing, or breaking something expensive—and, to be fair, that did make for a decent Friday night in. Here’s what’s going, when, and why it might be your last chance to stream Salma Hayek in full, unhinged mode.
Both The Hitman’s Bodyguard and its sequel leave Netflix on 1 October 2026.
The original film landed back in August 2017, doing healthy business for what’s basically a big-cast chase sequence stretched to two hours. The sequel, Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, showed up four years later in June 2021. Both were directed by Patrick Hughes, with Tom O’Connor penning the first script and tag-teaming with the Murphy brothers (Brandon and Phillip) for the second—so you’ve got a consistent creative team behind all the property destruction.
Who’s Shooting Who
For those who don’t remember (you lucky things), Reynolds plays Michael Bryce, once a hotshot bodyguard whose career is in ruins after a messy job gone spectacularly wrong. His next gig? Babysit notorious hitman Darius Kincaid—that’s Samuel L. Jackson—who’s supposed to testify against some cartoonishly evil dictator. More than half the running time is just Bryce and Kincaid trying, and mostly failing, not to kill each other before they even reach court, all while ducking a parade of armed maniacs.
The sequel doubles down on the carnage by bringing in Salma Hayek as Sonia Kincaid—Darius’s wife, frequently the most violent person on-screen at any given moment. She joins the boys for another whirl round Europe, this time getting drawn into (even more) criminal antics and international nonsense, with plot points mostly an excuse for set pieces and angry bickering.
- Ryan Reynolds – Michael Bryce
- Samuel L. Jackson – Darius Kincaid
- Salma Hayek – Sonia Kincaid (more front and centre in the sequel)
- Gary Oldman – bad guy in the first one
- Elodie Yung – Bryce’s ex-girlfriend (first film)
- Frank Grillo and Morgan Freeman jump into the madness for the second film
Box Office Goes Downhill
The first Hitman’s Bodyguard did surprisingly well at the box office, taking around $183 million worldwide. That’s more or less what you want for mid-budget studio fare with A-list leads. The sequel, though, never caught fire—about $70 million globally for Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, which is quite the drop.
The Critics vs The Punters
Critics gave both films a kicking but audiences were a bit more forgiving—especially of the sequel, oddly. The first film currently sits at 44% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, but fans bump it up to 66%. The second outing fared worse with reviewers (down to 25%) but for some mysterious reason, audiences have it up to 79%. Possibly the Salma effect, possibly because it leans all the way into the carnage with zero shame.
If you’re remotely tempted to revisit the carnage before Netflix pulls the plug, look lively: there are only a few days left before both titles vanish from the streaming library in Britain and everywhere else with the same deal.
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