The following contains spoilers for Bullet Train, now playing in theaters.
In David Leitch's Bullet Train, Brad Pitt's Ladybug was lucky to escape from his assignment in Japan. He got tasked by Sandra Bullock's Maria Beetle with retrieving a briefcase containing a ransom, but little did he know he was walking into an elaborate trap set by Michael Shannon's White Death. The latter arranged for a slew of villains to intersect in this job, all so he could murder them for having a hand in his wife's death.
Thankfully, Ladybug and a couple of other likable faces survived, with White Death and despicable assassins like the Hornet dying. However, from the way Ladybug and Maria sauntered off at the end of the film, there were certainly some sparks. As a result, given the action-comedy nature of the film, all these genres could be combined to craft a very dynamic adventure about love in a potential sequel.
Pitt and Bullock didn't get much screen time together, but an action rom-com would fit their characters perfectly while allowing Leitch and his cast to wow the entertainment industry by adding bloodshed to this story. And with such Hollywood A-list royalty, the box office draw should be big, as fans would love to see the evolution of their relationship. Ladybug doesn't like violence, so Maria could task him with another train mission that suits his caring nature more. She could join him for a performance appraisal or keep watch over him and make up for the Japan fiasco, shaping a date of sorts after she spent so much time in his earpiece.s
That could anger Carver (Ryan Reynolds), who couldn't make the Japan job, which resulted in White Death mistaking Ladybug for Carver and trying to murder him. Carver killed White Death's wife in his cameo and loved every second of it, so he could be the selfish foil that tries to sabotage things after crushing on Maria for years. Seeing as Reynolds and Bullock had so much chemistry in The Proposal, it'd be fun to see her trying to curb Carver, dialing his aggression back to reveal someone more endearing. This sentiment could, in turn, trigger jealousy in Ladybug, turning him into someone he's usually not.
Having both men vying for Maria's affection would remix what This Means War did with Chris Pine's Franklin and Tom Hardy's Tuck, where the CIA buddies had a rivalry for Reese Witherspoon's Lauren. And for how Bullet Train 2 could endanger the agents and their handler, White Death could have had more kids or a successor in his Russian/Japanese gang who'd want to kill off Maria's people in revenge. This drama provides an opportunity for Maria to be a badass operative in the field, too, while peeling back the layers of mystery with the guys.
Getting to know each other so well would build trust and help them survive, but it'd also create an opening for Carver, at some point, to backstab them. What'd also be intriguing is if other Bullet Train characters return, with other men also falling for Maria. Brian Tyree Henry's Lemon and Channing Tatum's mysterious passenger can fall for her, giving Ladybug and Carver more competition as they try to fend off obstacles.
And the Tatum angle's quite intriguing because he, Pitt and Bullock were in a cute triangle of attraction for a bit in The Lost City. No matter who's involved, all this would shake the date up, creating a new brand of rom-com. Bullet Train has immense potential, a great cast and enemies who wouldn't stop hunting Maria, Ladybug and Carver, which is something that shouldn't get wasted.
See how a sequel gets set up in Bullet Train, now in theaters.