Love to laugh?
You're in luck, because some of the best comedies ever made are getting sequels — and they're
coming sooner than you think…
"We got one!"
A third sequel to Ghostbusters was on the table for decades, and while Dan Aykroyd certainly
had ambitious plans for the franchise, they sadly never panned out.
Instead, fans got a reboot with Paul Feig's 2016 Ghostbusters, which featured a whole
new set of Ghostbusters played by Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Melissa McCarthy.
That film's middling box office returns and so-so critical reviews ensured that it would
never receive any sequels.
And so Sony rebooted Ghostbusters once more with 2021's Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Set in the world of the original Ghostbusters films and featuring cameos from both living
and not-so-living members of the original team, the film was a hit at the relatively
subdued COVID-era box office, prompting Sony to greenlight a sequel.
Jason Reitman, director of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and son of original Ghostbusters director
Ivan Reitman, will return to co-write and produce an Afterlife sequel, which is reportedly
titled Ghostbusters: Firehouse.
Co-writing duties also go to Monster House's Gil Kenan.
As the end sequence of Afterlife suggests, the film will take place in New York City,
just like the '80s Ghostbusters films.
While a few cast members will be returning from Afterlife, it hasn't yet been confirmed
whether Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, or Rick Moranis might return — but fans
are no doubt hoping for the best.
Based on a series of sketches from Nickelodeon's All That, Kenan and Kel's Good Burger hit
movie theaters in 1997.
"Welcome to Good Burger, home of the Good Burger, can I take your order?"
The Good Burger movie, which revolves around a rivalry between the Good Burger fast food
joint and a soulless corporate chain, earned a modest $23 million at the box office, but
nostalgia, home video, frequent airings on TV, and Kenan Thompson's rise as an iconic
pop culture figure have turned the film into a cult classic.
Paramount took note of this and put in an order for some more Good Burger in March 2023.
Set to debut on Paramount+ sometime in 2023, Good Burger 2 will follow a down-and-out Dexter
as he returns to Good Burger to work alongside Ed, who's still employed at the restaurant decades later.
Along with Thompson and Mitchell, Carmen Electra will return as the would-be secret sauce recipe
thief Roxanne.
Will the movie enjoy the cult following of the original?
Your guess is as good as ours.
But here's hoping Good Burger 2 makes for good eating either way.
In 2002, My Big Fat Greek Wedding became a pop culture phenomenon as huge as it was unexpected.
The story originally began as a semi-autobiographical one-woman show written and performed by Nia Vardalos.
Actor and producer Rita Wilson saw it and loved it, and soon enough, so did her husband, Tom Hanks.
A few years later, they co-produced the film adaptation, a blockbuster that grossed $368
million worldwide, making it the highest-earning romantic comedy of all time.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding led to a follow-up movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, as well
as a spin-off on CBS.
In June 2022, Vardalos announced in an Instagram video the third movie had already begun filming
on location in Greece; filming wrapped two months later.
Vardalos directs the movie and reprises the leading role of Toula at the same time.
According to Us Weekly, a host of original cast members will also return, including John
Corbett, Elena Kampouris, Andrea Martin, Louis Mandylor, and Maria Vacratsis.
According to the movie's trailer, the sequel finds the Portokalos family visiting Greece,
fulfilling a dying wish of patriarch Gus, who wanted his descendants to experience the
village in which he was raised.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3 is due for release on September 8th, 2023.
Considering the pile of films from the '80s and '90s being reimagined for modern audiences,
it was always going to be a matter of time before the bizarre 1988 Tim Burton haunted
house comedy Beetlejuice got the sequel treatment.
Sure enough, Beetlejuice 2 is finally in the works.
"It's showtime."
Warner Bros. confirmed that development on the movie had begun at CinemaCon 2023.
Soon after, it was announced that Wednesday's Jenna Ortega had joined the cast, reportedly
playing the daughter of Winona Ryder's character from the first movie.
It has also been reported that Michael Keaton is returning to reprise his iconic turn as
Beetlejuice himself; he'll be joined here by returning cast members Ryder and Catherine
O'Hara, with newcomer Monica Bellucci playing his wife and Justin Theroux playing an unknown character.
Apparently, Willem Dafoe is also set to play some sort of afterlife cop.
While little is known about the plot, we do know that Burton himself is coming back to direct.
Beetlejuice 2 is tentatively earmarked for a September 6th, 2024 release date, but production
delays caused by the SAG-AFTRA strike could feasibly push the movie down the line.
Roger Ebert once hailed This Is Spinal Tap as "one of the funniest movies ever made"
— and it's difficult to disagree with him.
The 1984 mockumentary tells the story of fading band Spinal Tap, desperately searching for
musical glory in a world that has forgotten them.
As they embark on a tour across the United States, they're filmed by the not-so-talented
documentarian Marty — played by the film's actual director, Rob Reiner.
With its so-terrible-they're-amazing songs and countless improvised jokes, it's no wonder
that This Is Spinal Tap became an instant classic.
And now, Reiner is getting the band back together.
Original stars Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer will be picking up
their guitars and rocking 'round Stonehenge in the film's upcoming sequel, scheduled for
release in 2024 — right in time for the original's 40th anniversary.
Here's hoping they can turn this sequel up to 11.
We appear to be in the midst of an Eddie Murphy renaissance.
After gradually fading from the spotlight since his heyday in the '80s and early '90s,
Murphy is suddenly back in a big way.
In the last few years, he gave a critically acclaimed performance in 2019's Dolemite Is
My Name, made a triumphant return to Saturday Night Live as host, lined up new standup comedy
specials for Netflix, and announced a sequel to one of his biggest hits from the '80s:
Beverly Hills Cop.
"Will you go put your trunks on and get in this pool?"
Marking the fourth installment in the Beverly Hills Cop franchise, this newest sequel will
also be a collaboration between Murphy and Netflix, after Paramount previously pulled
the plug on a planned Beverly Hills Cop 4 back in 2016.
Murphy will be reprising his role as Axel Foley, the Detroit cop who repeatedly finds
himself traveling to Beverly Hills to investigate various crimes.
Beverly Hills Cop 4 was originally going to be directed by Bad Boys for Life directors
Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, but after they dropped out to focus on Batgirl, the
job went to Mark Molloy, a rising filmmaker who has gained attention for his Apple commercials.
As for the screenplay, Murphy previously said he is ready to go as soon as the script is complete.
And in August 2022, Deadline reported that Will Beall, best known for story credits on
Aquaman and Zack Snyder's Justice League, had joined Axel Foley.
This time, Murphy and his fellow Beverly Hills Cop veterans will be joined by Kevin Bacon,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Zola breakout star Taylour Paige.
Considering the runaway success of 2018's Crazy Rich Asians, it would be surprising
if the film didn't earn a sequel.
Well, as it happens, it's actually getting two.
Based on Kevin Kwan's books of the same names, China Rich Girlfriend and Rich People Problems
are both moving ahead at Warner Bros., although it may be a while before we get to see them.
Due to the busy schedules of the franchise's A-list cast and director Jon M. Chu, the next
two installments in the Crazy Rich Asians saga probably won't be coming anytime soon.
It seems like the scripts aren't even completed yet; Michelle Yeoh told E! News:
"We are still waiting on it.
We know there's a writer on it, so we'll see."
That writer, according to Deadline, will be From Scratch's Amy Wang, who replaces the
original film's scribes, Peter Chiarelli and Adele Lim.
Meanwhile, producer Nina Jacobson says that the plan is to shoot both sequels back-to-back,
so that fans aren't waiting years between the second and third films.
Jacobson admits there'll likely be a wait for the sequels, but adds:
"We'll make it up to them on the back end by shooting two films together."
"If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."
"What?"
It's been two decades since the so-called "Frat Pack" dominated Hollywood comedy.
Ben Stiller and Vince Vaughn, stalwarts of that scene, collaborated on many mid-2000s
movies, perhaps most notable of which was 2004's Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
A broad and wacky sports movie that simultaneously satirizes sports movie clichés, Dodgeball
is a tale of good vs. evil set on the dodgeball court.
Dodgeball wraps up pretty conclusively, but since it was a massively profitable hit and
an enduring favorite on cable TV, a sequel is on the way regardless.
In April 2023, Deadline reported that 20th Century Studios had ordered another round
of Dodgeball.
The Binge screenwriter Jordan VanDina will pen the script, taking over from original
writer-director Rawson Marshall Thurber.
A director for this movie is yet to be announced, but Vaughn has already agreed to reprise his
role from the first Dodgeball, having successfully pitched his original idea for the movie to VanDina.
Freaky Friday follows a mother and daughter who, after magically switching bodies, come
to understand one another better after literally spending some time in each other's shoes.
It's a formula that is easily replicated, as evidenced by the multiple versions of the
movie released in 1976, 1995, and 2018.
The 2003 take, which stars Jamie Lee Curtis as stressed-out mother Tess Coleman and Lindsay
Lohan as wannabe rock star daughter Anna Coleman, earned $160 million at the box office and
launched Lohan's post-childhood career.
On the awards show circuit for 2022's Everything Everywhere All at Once Curtis repeatedly mentioned
that she'd like to play Tess Coleman again, and suggested that she had already engaged
in preliminary talks with Disney about a sequel.
The movie became official in May 2023, when Curtis and Lohan announced Freaky Friday 2
in a New York Times retrospective on the first film.
Short film auteur Elyse Hollander has been hired to write the screenplay in what will
be her first feature-length project.
It's been over 20 years since audiences followed effervescent sorority girl Elle Woods to Harvard
Law School in the bubblegum comedy Legally Blonde.
"Elle Woods…
Welcome to Harvard."
She continued to ascend the professional ladder in 2003's Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde,
which saw Elle head to Washington, D.C.
Now Elle is back.
In addition to starring as Elle, Reese Witherspoon will also act as a producer this time through
her Hello Sunshine banner, and she's brought on Never Have I Ever creator Mindy Kaling
and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Dan Goor to pen the screenplay.
Also returning for the sequel is Jennifer Coolidge, who starred in both previous films
as Elle's friend Paulette, a character who Kaling teased will have a "really juicy" role
in the film.
As for the rest of the original cast, we're still not sure who will be returning, but
we do know that there will be "a lot of new faces" in Legally Blonde 3 — along with
a lot more diversity.
Kaling promises:
"Reflecting the world as it is now is something that's really important to Reese, and so having
there be [...] diversity is super, super important.
You can definitely count on that."
We've yet to hear much in the way of plot details, but as a big fan of the original
films, Kaling is very much looking forward to revisiting an older and wise Elle Woods.
She says:
"I can't wait to see what [...] people will think of the way we wrote Elle Woods at 40.
How Elle Woods is at 40 versus how she was at 21 has been really fun to imagine."
In an act of divine providence — or maybe just Hollywood nostalgia — it looks like
Sister Mary Clarence will be donning her habit once again.
Sister Act 3 will premiere on Disney+ sometime in the near future.
Whoopi Goldberg will indeed be returning as both star and producer, with Tyler Perry also
coming on board to produce, Madhuri Shekar signing on to pen the script, and High School
Musical: The Musical: The Series creator Tim Federle attached to direct.
Released in 1992, the first Sister Act saw Goldberg play Deloris Van Cartier, a lounge
singer who goes into witness protection at a convent after witnessing a murder.
Sister Act got a sequel in 1993 with Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit, which found Deloris
stepping in as a music teacher for a group of low-achieving students at a Catholic school.
Goldberg suggested in her profile for Variety in 2021 that we could even possibly see some
of those kids again.
She said:
"Maybe there's gonna be some of the kids [from Sister Act 2].
Who can say?"
The rest of the cast is up in the air right now, but Sister Act 3 is certainly heading
in the right direction.
"It has a whole lot of adults to go through.
So, if they don't get in its way, it could actually be pretty good."
Fans of the 1996 bowling comedy Kingpin will be glad to hear that a sequel is rolling down the pipeline.
The original film starred Woody Harrelson as a former bowling prodigy who believes he
has found his claim to fame when he discovers an Amish bowling superstar, played by Randy Quaid.
The movie also starred Bill Murray as Harrelson's lifelong rival.
No details have yet been revealed about the sequel, other than the fact that Peter and
Bobby Farrelly, who directed the first film, will be back on board to produce.
However, it's unclear whether the Farrelly brothers are intending to write or direct
the sequel in addition to their producing duties.
Similarly, none of the original cast is confirmed to be returning for the sequel, although fans
would surely welcome another chance to see Harrelson and Murray unite on the big screen.
Ready for another trip to Genovia?
It certainly looks like Disney is preparing for a new royal adventure with The Princess Diaries 3.
We don't know any plot details yet, and it doesn't look like anyone has been officially
cast as of this moment.
However, Anne Hathaway has expressed her desire for a threequel in the past, so chances are
good she'll be returning to play Mia Thermopolis.
For her part, it seems like Julie Andrews plans on sitting this one out, as she told
The Hollywood Reporter in June 2022:
"[For] especially me, it's too far down the line now to go back to it.
It's a lovely thought, but I don't think it would probably be possible."
Now one of the most beloved stars to have ever kicked his way across the silver screen,
Jackie Chan first found Hollywood success with the action-comedy Rush Hour.
The 1998 film paired Chan's martial arts-savvy Hong Kong detective with Chris Tucker's riotous
L.A. cop.
Together, Chan and Tucker starred in the eighth highest-grossing movie of the year and kicked
off two sequels in the process.
And now a third is on the way.
At the Red Sea International Film Festival, Jackie Chan revealed that he's in talks to
make Rush Hour 4.
He added that he was about to go talk with the director about the upcoming film, although
he didn't reveal the filmmaker's identity.
The previous installments in the series were all helmed by Brett Ratner, but as Ratner
is now persona non grata in Hollywood, a new director is likely to be stepping up to bat
— despite Ratner claiming he was making Rush Hour 4 back in 2018.
However, it does at least look like Tucker is coming back.
Speaking with V-103's Big Tigger Morning Show, he talked about his upcoming work schedule.
"Rush Hour 4, that's something I definitely will probably drop in there because I love
working with Jackie."
No due date yet, but it seems Rush Hour 4 is certainly on the way.
One of the definitive films of the 1990s, Election is a pitch-black satire that takes
aim at the U.S. political system through the lens of a high school election.
The movie finds Reese Witherspoon's Tracy Flick tirelessly campaigning to become student
body president — and doing whatever it takes to win.
All the while, bitter teacher Jim McAllister is desperately trying to destroy Tracy's chances
of earning any votes.
Now, all these years later, it looks like Tracy Flick is coming back, determined as
ever to be #1.
Tracy Flick Can't Win will reunite Witherspoon with Alexander Payne, the original movie's director.
The project is based on the novel by Tom Perrotta, which finds Flick back at high school, trying
to become principal while struggling with a life that hasn't panned out how she planned.
While we don't have a release date yet, expect the Election sequel to campaign its way to
Paramount+ sometime in the future.
Hocus Pocus was only a moderate hit during its initial theatrical release in 1993.
A Halloween movie released in July for some reason, it earned around $45 million at the box office.
But it became a hit on home video and through repeated, heavily-watched annual TV broadcasts.
By the early 2000s, Hocus Pocus had become required October viewing for countless viewers.
It tells the story of teenager Max, who, along with his little sister Dani and crush Allison,
attempt to prevent the return of a trio of evil witches.
Debuting in September 2022, Hocus Pocus 2 set a viewership record for Disney+, racking
up 2.73 billion minutes of watch time over its first three days of availability.
And now a third Hocus Pocus is flying over to Disney+ too: In June 2023, Disney executive
Sean Bailey told the New York Times that a third entry in the comedic witch series was
in the works.