Django Strikes Again

Django Strikes Again (Italian: Django 2 - Il grande ritorno, lit. "Django 2 - The Great Return") is a 1987 Italian spaghetti Western film directed by Nello Rossati, under the pseudonym "Ted Archer". It stars Franco Nero as the title character in a story set 20 years after the first film, and it is the only official sequel in the Django series.^[2]

Django Strikes Again (Django 2 - Il grande ritorno)
Italian film poster by Enzo Sciotti
Directed by	Ted Archer
Screenplay by	Franco Reggiani Nello Rossati Dialogue: Anna Miserocchi
Story by	Franco Reggiani Nello Rossati
Based on	Django by Sergio Corbucci
Produced by	Luciano Martino (uncredited)[1]
Starring	Franco Nero Christopher Connelly Licia Lee Lyon William Berger Donald Pleasence
Cinematography	Sandro Mancori
Edited by	Adalberto Ceccarelli
Music by	Gianfranco Plenizio
Production companies	National Cinematografica Dania Film Filmes International Reteitalia
Distributed by	DMV Distribuzione Surf Film
Release date	6 November 1987 (1987-11-06)
Running time	88 minutes
Country	Italy
Languages	Italian English

Synopsis

Twenty years after the events in the first Django, the eponymous deadly gunslinger has left his violent life behind and become a monk named Brother Ignatius. Living in seclusion in a monastery, he wants no more of the violent actions he perpetrated. Suddenly, he learns from a dying former lover that some time ago he had a young daughter, who has been kidnapped along with other children who are now working for a ruthless Hungarian criminal and aristocrat known as El Diablo (The Devil) Orlowsky, who commands a mercenary army and has made himself infamous as an arms dealer and slave trader. The children and other prisoners are exploited working in Orlowsky's silver mine, from which he hopes to get rich from the spoils. Determined to find his daughter and nail the bad guys, Django gets some arms and goes on the warpath against Orlowsky's private army.

Cast

• Franco Nero as Django/Brother Ignatius
• Christopher Connelly as "El Diablo" Orlowsky/Prince Orlowsky
• Donald Pleasence as Ben Gunn
• Licinia Lentini (as Licia Lee Lyon) as Countess Isabelle
• Roberto Posse (as Robert Posse) as German Diablo Henchman
• Alessandro Di Chio as Captain
• Rodrigo Obregón as Diablo Henchman
• Miguel Carreno (as Micky) as Local Boy
• William Berger as Old Gunfighter
• Bill Moore as Old Gunfighter
• Consuelo Reina as Dona Gabriela

Production

Django Strikes Again was conceived concurrently with Duccio Tessari's Tex and the Lord of the Deep; both projects were intended to represent a revival of the Spaghetti Western genre. Following the commercial failure of Tex, Sergio Corbucci, who had co-written Django Strikes Again and had initially agreed to direct it, refused to partake in its production.^[2] Shot on location in Colombia, the film represents the final screen appearance of Christopher Connelly, who died of cancer a year after its release.^[2] Nero stated in a 2012 interview that he is "not happy with the film" and called it "a bit flat".^[3]

Release

Django Strikes Again was released theatrically in West Germany on November 6, 1987 as Djangos Rückkehr.^[4]

Sequel

Following a 2014 attempt to mount the project,^[5] it was reported in May 2016 that Franco Nero would reprise his role in a third and final outing as the titular character, entitled Django Lives! . The film was to be set 50 years after the events of the original installment. John Sayles was to direct.^[6][7][8]