The Big Picture
Paul Feig is excited for A Simple Favor sequel after Netflix success. Main cast reprising roles for anticipated follow-up.
Fans can expect even bigger box office success for A Simple Favor.
Feig focused on staying true to original while developing sequel.
A Simple Favor 2 in development for nearly three years. Feig and team prioritize audience satisfaction for highly anticipated release.
As the prominent Paul Feig, director of the well-received crime comedy A Simple Favor gears up for the release of its sequel, he shares a few updates with Variety, revealing just how excited he is about the project. Despite being released in 2018, A Simple Favor is currently topping the Netflix charts, which Feig couldn’t help but share with the cast just a few days ahead of wrapping the sequel in Italy.
“I sent it to all my main cast saying, ‘Hey, we’re doing the right thing here,” the director gushes. He later expresses delight in seeing his film become the most watched on Netflix. “I’m thrilled. It makes me so happy because this really is one of my favorite movies. It’s done well in the theaters, but I always feel so many people haven’t seen it yet, so now they do get to see it.”
Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Darcey Bell, A Simple Favor stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Lively, Henry Golding, AndrewRannells, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend and Jean Smart. It centers on a widowed vlogger, Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick), who attempts to investigate the disappearance of her friend Emily Nelson (Lively). The followup movie will feature Kendrick, Lively, Golding and Rannells reprising their roles, and they will be joined by Tony winner Alex Newell and Oscar winner Allison Janney.
‘A Simple Favor 2’ Has Been In Development For Almost Three Years
Image via Lionsgate
A Simple Favor, which amassed $97 million in the U.S. on a $20 million budget, has gained quite a following since its release and fans can expect the sequel to do even better at the box office. Creating this sequel appears to be a decision Feig could not just give up, as he discloses, “It’s a lot because also, if you look at my work, I’ve never done a sequel before just for that very reason. I’ve always tried to stay away from it, but this one, I just loved these characters and always felt we can revisit them.”
The movie expert also has the audience in mind as he develops the sequel. “We threw out the original draft that was going to get made. We were like, ‘As much as we like what we have here, we don’t think this is what the people who really loved the first movie are going to 100 percent want.’ We’ve been working on it for two and half years now, almost three, developing it and it getting it right.”
The sequel to A Simple Favor will premiere on Prime Video but with no known release date. Meanwhile, the first installment is available to stream on Prime Video.
A Simple Favor
Release Date August 29, 2018
Director Paul Feig
Cast Anna Kendrick , Ian Ho , Joshua Satine , Glenda Braganza , Andy Rannells , Kelly McCormack
Runtime 119
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