Luca Guadagnino hops from genre to genre with every project, cementing his reputation as one of today’s most unpredictable major directors — you never quite know what he’ll cook up next.
Julia Roberts has confirmed she’s been approached about reprising her role in a sequel to “My Best Friend’s Wedding” — and her “After the Hunt” director Guadagnino says he’d direct it “in a second.”
The revelation came in Variety’s new cover story on Guadagnino’s upcoming psychological thriller, starring Roberts, Andrew Garfield, Ayo Edebiri, and Chloë Sevigny. Roberts admitted, “They’re talking to me” about returning for the long-rumored sequel. Guadagnino immediately jumped in, saying he’d happily direct Roberts in it without hesitation.
The sequel has been in “early development” since July, with “Past Lives” filmmaker Celine Song attached to write the screenplay. Song is not expected to direct. Dermot Mulroney, Roberts’ co-star in the 1997 original, has also teased his involvement.
The P.J. Hogan–directed film, from a screenplay by Ronald Bass (“Rain Man”), starred Roberts as Julianne Potter, a food critic scheming to sabotage her best friend’s wedding. Cameron Diaz and Rupert Everett co-starred.
Hogan hasn’t directed a movie in over 13 years, and Bass hasn’t had a notable film since 1999’s “Entrapment.” Chances are, neither will return for the sequel. A Guadagnino/Song team-up would certainly be a creative improvement.
Guadagnino’s excitement, however, comes at a time when his slate is already overflowing. In addition to “After the Hunt” (out Oct. 10), and the already-shot “Artificial” (2026), he’s developing a “Lord of the Flies” adaptation, the Italian drama “Separate Rooms,” a new take on Thomas Mann’s “Buddenbrooks,” and a reimagining of “American Psycho.” On the latter, he told Variety that Chloë Sevigny would be involved — “if the movie happens.”
Given Guadagnino’s famously stacked development slate, he will likely not take on a rom-com sequel, but his instant excitement about Roberts and “My Best Friend’s Wedding” is quite the curveball.
The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.