The Boondock Saints 3 has been confirmed to be in development, and it needs to break the unflattering record the series currently has with Rotten Tomatoes. Released in 1999, The Boondock Saints follows Connor and Murphy MacManus, a pair of brothers in Boston who become vigilante killers targeting one of the larger mobs in town. The film’s hyper-violence and dark comedy made it highly controversial when it was released, leading to a critical drubbing and a major box-office disappointment.

However, the film eventually became a cult classic that generated a sequel (that also failed to earn many critical raves). With a third Boondock Saints on the way with Norman Reedus and Sean Patrick Flanery set to return, the pressure is on for the series to reach new heights. To do so, it must replicate what made the original so much fun and avoid the biggest problems with the subsequent sequel. If it can do so, then it’ll justify bringing back the Saints for the confirmed The Boondock Saints 3.

The Boondock Saints’ Dismal Franchise Record On Rotten Tomatoes Explained

The Boondocks Saints 3 will need to do better than the last two films in the series, which suffered critically. Starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Norman Reedus, Willem Dafoe, David Della Rocco, and Billy Connolly, The Boondock Saints was released amid a tense political backdrop. With events like the Columbine Massacre shaping public perception of the violence in films like The Boondock Saints, critics responded to the film negatively. The film currently has a 26% positive rate on Rotten Tomatoes, with critics decrying the film’s glorification of vigilantism, weak central story, and bland protagonists.

While The Boondock Saints became a box office bomb in 1999, word-of-mouth spread about the film and its approach to hyper-violence. This eventually turned the movie into a cult classic, attracting far more attention on home-video than it ever had in theaters. This sparked enough interest to generate a sequel, 2009’s The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day. Although the sequel did better at the box office than its predecessor, critics still openly disliked the film. The Boondock Saints II received even worse reviews, and currently has a 24% on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Boondock Saints 3’s Hype Means It Really Needs To Break Its RT Streak

Since 2011, director Troy Duffy has toyed with potential sequels to the film. This included a prospective Boondock Saints TV series and a series of recently announced books. However, it’s been confirmed that a reimagining of the series is coming in the form of The Boondock Saints III, with Reedus and Flanery set to return. Since the first film, Reedus has blown up, in large part due to his enduring fan-favorite role of Dwight on The Walking Dead. At the same time, the original film has only become more of a cult favorite, especially Dafoe’s detective Paul Smecker.

This means there will be far more attention paid to the upcoming third film, as well as far more pressure. The first film was a box office bomb and the second was able to barely make back its budget. With far more attention and star power behind it, The Boondock Saints 3 will need to earn more favorable reviews if it wants any chance of standing out from its predecessors. Even gaining a mixed reception would be a step up for the series, but without losing the distinct stylistic violence and surprisingly comedic beats that define the series.

How Boondock Saints 3 Can Fix The Second Movie’s Mistakes

The Boondock Saints 3 can improve on many of the biggest flaws from the previous film. The sequel attempted to escalate and expand the universe’s scope, all while trying to build on the first film’s villains. The problem is that the first Boondock Saints benefited from a looser story and execution. The Saints were portrayed as dopes, who kept stumbling through their adventures and surviving more through sheer luck and divine intervention than any genuine skill. As a result, the overarching conspiracy and subsequent FBI investigation end up distracting and dull.

Boondock Saints 3 could improve on both films by focusing more on developing a straightforward story that gives the films’ memorable approach to pitch-black comedy more room to shine. As a “reimagining,” the film might have an easier time ejecting the plot twists and turns of the previous movie, leaning more heavily into the looser tone that transformed the original into a cult-favorite. A tighter focus the central characters, reflective of the acting chops both Flanery and Reedus have displaced elsewhere, could make it more palatable to critics. There’s a lot of pressure on Boondock Saints 3, but it could still prove to be the best in the series.