Anna Kendrick in 2016’s ‘The Accountant.’ ; 2025’s ‘The Accountant 2.’. Photo:

Warner Bros./ Pictorial Press Ltd / Alamy ; BFA / Amazon MGM Studios/ Alamy

The Accountant 2 has hit theaters — but one star from the original movie is notably absent.

Directed by Gavin O’Connor, the original action movie was released in 2016. It followed a neurodivergent mathematics savant named Christian Wolff (Ben Affleck) who makes a living as a freelance accountant for dangerous criminal organizations.

The Accountant 2 continues the story nine years later, this time focusing on a treasury agent, Marybeth Medina (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), who is forced to contact Christian to solve the mysterious murder of her former boss. Christian takes on the task with the help of his estranged brother Brax (Jon Bernthal), and the siblings set out on an action-packed journey to find out the truth.

But while much of the cast from the original film reprised their roles, including Affleck, Addai-Robinson, Bernthal and J.K. Simmons, Anna Kendrick — who portrayed Christian’s love interest Dana Cummings in the first movie — is not in the sequel, leaving fans wondering about her absence.

So, why isn’t Anna Kendrick in The Accountant 2? Here’s everything to know about the actress’ absence from the sequel.

Anna Kendrick in 2016’s ‘The Accountant.’. Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy

While at the premiere of The Accountant 2 in April 2025, O’Connor told The Direct that he and screenwriter Bill Dubuque always intended for the second film to focus primarily on the two brothers: Christian and Brax.

“That was always the intention for the second movie,” he said, noting that the brothers had a lot of “issues” to fix.

Although Kendrick isn’t in The Accountant 2, 2025 has been a busy year for the actress. She most recently starred alongside Blake Lively in Another Simple Favor, which will be released on Prime Video on May 1.

Anna Kendrick in 2016’s ‘The Accountant.’. WARNER BROS & COLUMBIA PICTURES / Cortesia Album

In October 2016, Kendrick spoke to Rotten Tomatoes Coming Soon about her role in The Accountant, saying, “One of the things that intrigued me most about the script was the levels and layers of this puzzle.”

“I had to read it twice to even follow a lot of the mystery as it gets unveiled,” the Pitch Perfect alum said. “I think those kinds of movies where there’s so much going on, that you can pick up more and more if you watch it a few times, are really exciting.”

“It has that feeling of a ’90s thriller,” the actress continued. “Obviously, Ben and Gavin were hugely exciting to me.”

Ben Affleck and Anna Kendrick in 2016’s ‘The Accountant.’. Moviestore Collection Ltd / Alamy

While a third movie has yet to be confirmed, O’Connor has high hopes for the story to continue — and already has some storylines in the works.

During a September 2021 appearance on CinemaBlend’s podcast, O’Connor said that he has “always wanted to do three.”

While he always intended for the second movie to focus more on Christian’s estranged brother Brax, the story is part of O’Connor’s plan to set up a third sequel.

“The third movie’s going to be, I call it, ‘Rain Man on steroids,’ ” he said. “The third movie is going to be the two brothers, this odd couple. The third one is going [to] be a buddy picture.”

He went on to tell The Direct that in a future third installment, he wanted Christian to “still [be] looking for love and looking for connection, which I’m going to explore deeper.”

Anna Kendrick attends Conversation with Josh Horowitz about the film ‘Woman Of The Hour’ on Oct. 22, 2024, in New York City. Jason Mendez/Getty

At the premiere of The Accountant 2, O’Connor teased to The Direct that while Kendrick wasn’t in the second chapter of the film franchise, she could return in the future.

After discussing his plan to explore Christian’s love life further in the potential third movie, O’Connor teased, “Don’t be surprised if Dana, [Kendrick] shows up in the third film.”

As for whether or not Kendrick is on board with the plan, O’Connor told The New York Times in April 2025 that he has been texting the actress, and she is “a hundred percent in if we want.”

O’Connor added, “Maybe Christian can finally get the love that he deserves.”