Five years after a killer comet triggers a near-mass extinction event, leaving the world unrecognizable, Gerard Butler returns to the post-apocalyptic universe of Greenland in the sequel, Greenland 2: Migration.
Butler reprises his role as John Garrity, this time leading his family on a perilous mission to rebuild life on a devastated planet.
The Lionsgate film follows the Garritys — John, Allison (Morena Baccarin), and their now-older son, Nathan (Roman Griffin Davis) — as they leave the safety of their underground bunker in search of a new home. While the original film centered on the chaos of the unknown, Greenland 2 shifts its focus to survival, sacrifice and the difficult work of rebuilding rather than simply running.
From survival to rebuilding
“They’ve been through a lot, and they’re still there,” Butler told Blavity’s Shadow and Act as he reflected on the new reality the Garrity family faces, explaining how the shelter that once symbolized salvation has evolved into its own kind of confinement.
“They find their moments of levity. But it’s rough. They’re running out of resources there; things are breaking down, cracking all over the place. It’s a new reality for them. My son is a juvenile now, and he wants things, and he knows this is not the way his life should be,” he said.
Butler returns as producer
Butler also reprised his role as a producer on the film, which allowed him to more deeply inhabit each character’s emotional journey as they navigated unfamiliar and dangerous territory.
“As you’re developing the script and you’re reading it and you’re reading it, you’re always, just through a process of assimilation and osmosis, starting to take on more of the thoughts and the feelings of the character,” Butler shared.
He later emphasized the film’s turbulent elements, which heighten the family’s fight for survival and sense of urgency.
“You’re in that boat. You’re in that earthquake. You’re on that rope bridge,” adding a lot of this movie is survival instinct. He also leans into the character’s protective instincts and emotional grounding.
“He’s a father, so he’s a protector,” Butler said. “It is his first and most important purpose in life to take care of them.”
In the sequel, John’s sense of duty expands beyond his nuclear family. Life underground has fostered a broader understanding of kinship, pushing him into a leadership role within the community.
Butler pondered, “I’m curious which direction he [John] would have gone if he was just on his own.”
“He has the whole community. He goes outside into the pollution and the radiation affecting his health, not only to try and help his immediate family, but also the community. But I think that’s one of the beautiful things about the story: seeing the power of the love in that family, the sacrifice and what they will do for each other and how empowering that is.”
Greenland 2: Migration is now in theaters.