In 2013, there have been two high-profile Hollywood movies about the terrorists who attacked the White Houseand the brave Secret Service agents who stepped in to protect the beleaguered president. On June 28, Roland Emmerich's excellent White House Down hit theaters, starring Channing Tatum as the beleaguered agent and Jamie Foxx as the president. The bad terrorist was played by Jason Clarke. White House Down also starred Maggie Gyllenhaal, Joey King and Richard Jenkins. It was, for my money, one of the best movies of 2013.

The general public, however, better remembers Antoine Fuqua's "Olympus Has Fallen," which beat "White House Down" in theaters by about three months. Olympus Has Fallen stars Gerard Butler as the beleaguered agent and Aaron Eckhart as the president. The bad terrorist was played by Rick Yune. The Olympus cast featured more raw star power than The White House, as Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Angela Bassett, Robert Forster, Melissa Leo, Dylan McDermott and Radha Mitchell all appeared. White House Down grossed over $200 million compared to the $170 million made by Olympus, but the former cost $150 million to make, while the latter was put together for a relatively modest $70 million. "Olympus" was the biggest hit.

It was such a hit that it spawned two sequels, all starring Butler as Mike Bunning, a gravel-voiced super-American willing to kill thousands for his country. Because it would be implausible for terrorists to attack the White House multiple times, the setting was changed for each installment of Fallen. At the end of 2024, a new TV series Has Fallen debuted on Hulu, but the series doesn't connect to the three Mike Bunning films in any significant way.

The three films of the Fallen series were released in the following order.

The three Fallen films were released as follows:

• Antoine Fuqua "Olympus Has Fallen" (2013)
• Babak Najafi's London Has Fallen (2016)
• Rick Roman Waugh's Angel Has Fallen (2019)
• Paris Has Fallen (2024) (TV series)

The first film's "Olympus" is, as the film explains, code for the White House. When the White House was taken, the CIA's fears began to bark over their radios that Olympus had fallen. The terrorists in that movie were from North Korea. Most of the film was shot in Shreveport, Louisiana, and all shots of the White House were achieved with unconvincing CGI. In the sequel, the president is attending the G7 summit in London when (sigh) Islamic terrorists attack, trying to kill multiple world leaders at the same time. Mike Bunning and the President flee the streets of London, unsure of where to hide. "London" is much more violent, and Mike Bunning seems to have become much more detached and jingoistic.

The tone somewhat matches Angel Fallen. In that film, Morgan Freeman plays the President (previously Speaker of the House and Vice President), and is attacked and left in a coma early on. Mike Bunning learns that the attackers are, this time, American mercenaries. Bunning is framed for the attack and spends most of "Angel" on the lam. Tim Blake Nelson, Jada Pinkett Smith, Lance Reddick, Piper Perabo, Nick Nolte and Danny Huston appear.

Paris Has Fallen is not about Prohibition at all, but about a new character named Vincent Taleb played by Tewfiq Jalab. The bad guy is played by Sean Harris, and Vincent has to protect a French politician. The series is partly in English and partly in French. It is said to take place in the Has Fallen universe, but there are no explicit references to the films. As of this writing, the show has been renewed for a second season, so only time will tell if Mike Bunning will make an appearance.