'Angel Has Fallen' release date, cast news: Aaron Eckhart won't return for sequel

The 2016 American action thriller film, "London Has Fallen" gained moderate commercial success even though it received generally negative feedback from critics.Facebook/LondonHasFallenOfficial

Although fans of this year's American action thriller film, "London Has Fallen" are delighted with the news that Gerard Butler will be returning for a sequel titled "Angel Has Fallen," the bad news is that the actor who played as the rescued U.S. president, Aaron Eckhart won't be reprising his role.

To recall, Eckhart played the role of President Benjamin Asher in the first two installments of the film series where, in both occasions, he found himself at risk of being killed or assassinated by a group of terrorists or criminals, only to be rescued by Secret Service agent, Mike Banning (Butler). But this time, the writers of the next film will have to figure out a way to find a replacement for Eckhart.

In a recent interview with Collider, Eckhart was asked about his character's whereabouts in the upcoming film. Instead of offering teasers of his expected return, he simply said, "The President is retired. He's golfing and he's amassing his library right now."

Well, it's just one of the many ways to tell fans of the film series that Banning will most likely be protecting a new president.

According to Cinema Blend, the revelation of Eckhart no longer coming back may actually be a good thing for the franchise in general, considering how unbelievable or even borderline outrageous it is for a president's life to be put at risk three times. It looks like the producers and writers of the upcoming film know that there has to be more to "Angel Has Fallen" than just saving the president from another threat.

Meanwhile, there are no additional details as to who among the previous cast members will be returning for the new film, although it is already confirmed that production will begin early next year.