It is produced by Petri Jokiranta and Mike Goodridge for Subzero Film Entertainment and Good Chaos respectively with Eric Charles’ overseeing for Sony’s Stage 6 Films.[7] Unlike the previous film, which was set in Lapland, filming took place in Estonia.[6][8]
Sisu: Road to Revenge premiered at the Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2025.[9] It was released in Finland on October 22, by SF Film Finland, and in the United States on November 21, by Screen Gems through Sony Pictures Releasing.[10][11][1] Like its predecessor, the film has received a positive reception from critics.[12]
Premise
After returning in 1946 to Soviet-occupied Karelia, where his family was brutally murdered during World War II, Aatami Korpi, "the man who refuses to die", dismantles his old family house, loads it on a truck, and is determined to rebuild it somewhere safe in their honor. When the Red Army discovers Korpi's arrival on their soil, Igor Draganov, the man who killed his family, comes back hellbent on finishing the job: kill the legendary ex-soldier by any means necessary.[6][13]
Stephen Lang as Igor Draganov, a Soviet Red Army officer responsible for killing Korpi's family
Richard Brake as a KGB officer who sends Draganov to capture Korpi
Production
In an interview with the Finnish News Agency in March 2023, Helander expressed interest in a sequel to Sisu if the film proved successful at the American box office.[14] In another interview in May 2023, Helander stated, "I have an idea of what would happen next...Maybe somebody needs [Aatami Korpi's] skills again but let's see."[15] Helander has later said that the idea for the sequel's plot came about while he was renovating his apartment.[16] In December 2023, Jorma Tommila also expressed interest in returning as protagonist Aatami Korpi for a sequel.[17] That same month, Helander confirmed that he would return as director for the sequel,[18] with the Finnish Film Foundation initially granting financial support of €50,000.[19] Later, the amount of support increased to €1 million and the budget for the entire film was announced at around €11 million, making it one of the most expensive Finnish films.[3]
In March 2024, it was announced that filming of the sequel would begin in late summer and it was estimated that the film would premiere in less than two years.[8] Filming for the sequel was completed in late 2024.[20][21] According to Helander, tone of the film drew on references to Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Buster Keaton's films.[22] Tommila has stated that the role was physically demanding for his age, but he was able to endure it by applying the lessons he had learned from theatre director Jouko Turkka (1942–2016).[23] In April 2025, it was revealed that Sony Pictures' Screen Gems had replaced Lionsgate as the domestic distributor to the sequel after its sister company Stage 6 Films opted to retain worldwide rights outside Finland, with Stephen Lang and Richard Brake joining the cast.[24] The film is scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on November 21, 2025.[25][26] The film's Red Band Trailer was released on August 27, 2025.[27]
Release
A special screening was held in at Tennispalatsi in Helsinki, Finland on October 21, 2025, the day before the official Finnish premiere, and among the invited guests was actor Stephen Lang with his wife Kristina Watson.[28][29] In an interview given in connection with the screening, Lang said that he was very proud to be able to act in this film, and praised the Finns and their "sense of humor".[28]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 95% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.[30]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 82 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".[31]
In October 2025, a diplomatic note was sent from the Russian Embassy on Tehtaankatu in Helsinki, citing "the film's revengeful spirit, both in the poster that had already been seen and the anti-Russian nature of the work itself, which is aimed at international distribution." The note suggests that the anti-Nazi sentiment of the first film still receives the approval of the Tehtaankatu peace analysis group, but finds it deeply regrettable and expresses its harsh judgment that the character who was made the hero of the second part of the action film has now turned his weapons against the Eastern peace power, even in a revanchist spirit of supposedly "justified revenge", concluding that "Rambo-Aatami would rather deserve a bullet in his skull than his Academy Awards dreams!"[33]
Future
Helander has not directly said whether he intends to direct a third Sisu film, because he considers Road to Revenge as a good conclusion to the story, although he does not completely rule out the possibility of a sequel:
If someone ever says that you will get this much money if you make a third, then I may consider it.[22][34]
Tommila hinted that if he were invited to play Aatami Korpi in the third film, he would go along as long as he still had enough strength to do so.[35]
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