WAR MACHINE Sequel News Including a Title … and it’s Perfect |

War Machine Sequel News Including a Title … and it’s Perfect

Here’s an update for you about this very entertaining Netflix original film, which some dubbed “Predator for a new generation.”

A Quick Recap

This was a highly enjoyable film, focusing on Ranger training and a concurrent alien invasion. Because of a communications blackout, the troops are at first unaware if the war machine is a part of their training or not. I particularly enjoyed the character background and the training sequences involving the tried-and-tested main character, 81 (played by Ritchson), his trauma, and his motivation. I’ve written about this film before, including my review, here and news of the sequel, here.

I enjoyed it very much. I watched with some friends and we had a great time with it. It is a “popcorn film,” meaning “suspend your disbelief” and just sit back and have fun. This would definitely qualify. Don’t question the sheer damage that Ritchson takes … just accept that he is a superhuman.

The film is one of Netflix’s biggest movies of all time. It reached the Top 10 in ninety countries and hit over 139 million views.

It was a great time, I have to admit. In short, it’s flawed but fun. I especially appreciated the background context and the extended character building which built toward the eventual attack in the Ranger’s testing arena. It was clever and engaging. The film has moved into the top Netflix movies of all time, and thus, we are getting a sequel.

I also wrote this about the film, particularly Alan Ritchson:

Further, Ritchson is great. It’s nice to see him as the main character in a property outside of Reacher, and it’s obvious that not only can he hold his own, but he can lead the ensemble — just like his character in War Machine, 81. I want more.

We heard some time time ago that Patrick Hughes was coming back to direct.

Now the News — the Title Is …

Now Hughes has revealed some information, courtesy of The Wrap:

We will learn the origin of the war machine
We will learn if there are pilots in each, or if they’re controlled from a home world/base
Why is the invasion happening?
What is 81’s name?

And most important, the title of the sequel:

WAR MACHINES

The title is a callback to Aliens, when James Cameron ramped up the terror and horror of Alien and turned the franchise into an action thriller featuring a legion of xenomorphs instead of just one.

I wonder if Hughes used a dollar sign on the “S” as Cameron did when he pitched his film … ? War Machine$.

As more news arrives about this film, I’ll post it here at Life After Gateway. While we wait for the sequel, here’s a behind-the-scenes look at the first film from Netflix:

Sources: Polygon, JoBlo, The Wrap

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A Blanket of Steel by Timothy S. Johnston and from Fitzhenry & Whiteside, LTD. is the recipient of the 2024 GLOBAL Thriller Award GRAND PRIZE and the 2024 CYGNUS Award First in Category.

— Timothy S. Johnston, 7 August 2026

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Praise for Timothy S. Johnston’s A Blanket of Steel

“Fans of Clive Cussler’s NUMA Files will be delighted with Timothy S. Johnston’s undersea novels. Truman McClusky and Dirk Pitt are cut from the same adventurer’s cloth.” — Nick Cutter, author of The Deep and The Troop

“Action that ranges from close range combat to torpedo-fueled attacks. The result is a thriller that keeps moving from confrontation to confrontation … with constant danger and the vast depths of the ocean as a setting, there is always reason to keep reading.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Read the book and prepare to be blown away by one of the best writers I have ever had the pleasure to read. Timothy S. Johnston is simply amazing.” — FIVE Stars from Readers’ Favorite

“A Blanket of Steel is not simply a ‘daring do’ thriller … It’s prescient.” — Amazing Stories

“A priority selection. An action-packed story that is hard to put down. A Blanket of Steel is outstanding.” — D. Donovan, Sr. Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

“Innovative technology, Mac taking risks no one else would dare and thinking his way through to brilliant solutions … But the stakes are higher than they’ve ever been before. This is it. The countdown to the final battle … Johnston does an excellent job of keeping the tension taut as he plays with the reader’s perceptions of characters we thought we knew and trusted …” — SFcrowsnest

“Expect to be left breathless. Trust me here. Please. I COULD NOT PUT IT DOWN.” — Michael Libling, author of The Serial Killer’s Son Takes A Wife and Hollywood North: A Novel in Six Reels

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A BLANKET OF STEEL is out now!

WATCH THE GRIPPING BOOK TRAILER HERE.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

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A Blanket of Steel from Timothy S. Johnston and Fitzhenry & Whiteside, Ltd.

Book Cover & Jacket Copy:

AN UNSTOPPABLE THREAT!

A mysterious assassin has murdered Cliff Sim, Chief Security Officer of the underwater colony, Trieste. Cliff was a mountain of a man, highly trained, and impossible to defeat in combat. And yet …

Someone brutally beat him and left his broken body in a secret Chinese facility at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean.

And included a calling card for Truman McClusky, Mayor of Trieste.

Taunting him.

Mac has led the underwater colonies in their fight against the world’s superpowers. Climate change has devastated the surface; nations suffer famine, drought, rebellion, rising waters, and apocalyptic coastal flooding. But now, as Mac leads the underwater colonies to freedom and independence, he’s faced with the gravest threat of his life: a Russian assassin, hellbent on killing Mac and everyone he cares for. Now Mac must uncover the identity of the killer, face him in combat, and at the same time lead people in battle against the largest underwater force ever assembled. It’s Mac’s final test, and to win the war, he must use every tool at his disposal, including the most surprising and devastating underwater weapons ever invented.

If Mac fails, all hope is lost for the future of human colonization on the ocean floors.

But the assassin could be anyone …

Watch your back, Mac.

A Blanket of Steel is the most gripping thriller yet in The Rise of Oceania.

FOR PURCHASE OPTIONS CLICK HERE

The other books in The Rise of Oceania series by Timothy S Johnston:

The War Beneath 9781771484718
The Savage Deeps 9781771485067
Fatal Depth 9781554555574
An Island of Light 9781554555819
The Shadow of War 9781554556007