Pascal, now an aide to a blustering four-star Admiral (played by Stephen Root), sees a PR disaster. In a moment of desperation (and to save his own career), Pascal suggests: “What about Dodge? He beat us before with a pile of junk. Let him fail on TV, and we blame him.”
Dodge is offered a real command: a new Virginia-class submarine. He declines. “I’ll take the Sandlance . She’s ugly, she leaks, and she’s ours.”
DOWN PERISCOPE: THE LAST PATROL
They locate Volkov’s Viper near the wreck of the USS Oriskany in the Gulf of Mexico. The AI sub is faster, quieter, and deadlier. But it has one flaw: it follows logic, not chaos.
Volkov, in a military prison, is offered a deal by a mysterious figure (maybe a callback to the original Admiral from the first film). “We have another wargame coming up. And we need someone unpredictable.” Volkov smiles. Cue up-tempo Russian folk music. This sequel honors the original’s tone—crude, clever, and full of heart—while updating it with AI themes, a modern villain, and the same crew chemistry that made the first film a cult hit. down periscope sequel
The Admiral, desperate, agrees. Dodge is dragged out of his Pentagon cubicle. The mission: Take an obsolete diesel-electric submarine, the USS Sandlance —a museum piece docked in Baltimore, filled with tourists and gift shops—retrofit it in 72 hours, and intercept Volkov.
The Sandlance is being decommissioned for real this time. But as the crew walks off, Winslow pulls a hidden lever. The sub slowly sinks into the harbor—on purpose. Buckman plays taps on his harmonica. Nitro live-streams it. Pascal, now an aide to a blustering four-star
Dodge’s conditions: He gets his old crew.