It’s easy to see why Hollywood keeps going back to the sequel well: nostalgia is a proven commodity, and audiences rarely turn down cinematic comfort food. According to Film Stories, there are currently a staggering 134 movie sequels in active development.
Make that 136. Here are two more, just announced, and ready to bank on ‘90s and 2000s nostalgia.
Dermot Mulroney has revealed that Sony is eager to move forward with a sequel to ‘90s romcom “My Best Friend’s Wedding,” with their legal team already contacting the cast’s representatives to check on availability and discuss salary terms.
“My Best Friend’s Wedding” starred Julia Roberts and Dermot Mulroney as Julianne and Michael, lifelong friends who once promised to marry each other if they were still single by age 28. Just days before Julianne’s 28th birthday, Michael drops a bombshell—he’s engaged to 20-year-old Kimberly (Cameron Diaz).
In 2023, Julia Roberts shared her interest in revisiting the role of Jules when asked which of her past films she’d like to see get a sequel. “I think, maybe, My Best Friend’s Wedding,” she said during an appearance on Watch What Happens Live.
Meanwhile, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha (“Blinded by the Light”) has officially confirmed that a follow-up to her 2002 film, “Bend It Like Beckham,” is in development, with the goal of launching it in 2027 to coincide with both the original’s 25th anniversary and the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
Speaking to Deadline, Chadha shared she resisted creating a follow‑up for over two decades due to a lack of a compelling story, until now.
“I came up with a great super‑cool story about a month ago,” she told Deadline, adding, “I’m excited to revisit the original characters and build on the legacy we helped create for the women’s game.”
Chadha hopes to reunite the original cast, including Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Archie Panjabi, Juliet Stevenson, and others. She emphasized that “everything hinges on the script and if the original cast likes it,” adding she’s working hard to ensure each character has a meaningful arc.
Whether these two legacy sequels will recapture the magic of their predecessors remains to be seen, but their very existence speaks volumes about the industry’s reliance on familiar titles to cut through the noise of an oversaturated market.
The ‘Smile’ franchise has a new director. David Bruckner, who made “The Night House” and the 2022 “Hellraiser” reboot, has been hired to direct “Smile 3” for Paramount.