Nelson Dilipkumar was initially sceptical about Jailer 2 with Rajinikanth; later postponed Telugu film to do it

A ‘super show’ in lieu of the usual pre-release events premiered on Sun NXT for Jailer 2. Here's what the team said about the sequel.

After Jailer was released in 2023, Nelson Dilipkumar was in vogue, and everyone had eyes on what his next film would be. Fans once believed that Jr NTR had hinted at working with the filmmaker in a Telugu film, only adding fuel to the fire. But the filmmaker later announced Jailer 2 with Rajinikanth, making many wonder how he would take Tiger Muthuvel Pandian’s story further. Turns out Nelson was sceptical about it initially, too.

Rajinikanth says he doesn’t like sequels

Rajinikanth's still from Jailer 2 teaser announcement. (Instgaram)

A ‘super show’ for Jailer 2 dropped on Sun NXT on Friday in lieu of the usual pre-release events films have. On it, Rajinikanth said, “I usually don’t prefer sequels. I feel like whatever is in part 1, they’ll add salt and spices to it. I was approached for Baasha 2 and Petta 2, but I did not agree to do them.”

However, watching Jailer on OTT changed his mind, said Rajinikanth. “Towards the end of the film, when I’m about to kill him, Varman says that he has a huge network who won’t spare me. Also, at the end of Jailer, there are three containers worth ₹1000 crore. I felt it had potential for a sequel,” he added.

Nelson Dilipkumar postponed Telugu film

“He said we have already extracted maximum content, let’s not do that,” explained the actor, adding, “But after a month, he said, I gave it some thought. Let’s do it. Nelson had a Telugu commitment, but he postponed it for Jailer 2. He took his time to develop the script as I shot for Vettaiyan, Lal Salaam and Coolie.”

When fans thought Jr NTR teased a film with Nelson Dilipkumar

While Rajinikanth and Nelson did not mention with whom the filmmaker was supposed to work in Telugu, Jr NTR had teased their collaboration last year. In April 2025 at the success meet of MAD Square, he hinted that he will soon work under Naga Vamsi’s production.

The actor said, "If I talk about Vamsi too much, maybe he'll get dishti (nazar). He has gotten used to good things happening to him. We're about to do something soon. He will announce it soon when he can. The day we announce it, I'll let Vamsi deal with you (his fans)." Fans thought Jr NTR was confirming a film with Nelson.

However, in June this year, Jr NTR confirmed a film with the producer and Trivikram Srinivas. It was also hinted that the film will be based on Lord Murugan. There has also been chatter about Nelson pitching a film to Allu Arjun, who's currently working with Atlee on Raaka. Jailer 2 is releasing in theatres on October 16.