After their fourth consecutive first-place opening with The Other Guys, Adam McKay is already thinking sequel. Some may recall that the director was trying hard to get a sequel to Anchorman off the ground but budget issues got in the way. Together the three previous McKay/Ferrell comedies – or Ferrell/McKay comedies, depending on who is talking about the collaborations – have grossed $380 million worldwide and have sold thousands of copies on DVD and Blu-ray. Actually, the DVD sales of Anchorman gave McKay a small defense when meeting with the Paramount suits about a potential sequel to San Diego’s favorite anchorman, Ron Burgandy. It was going to be a musical, in which the cast would first perform it on Broadway before presenting it cinematically.
While Anchorman: The Musical isn’t expected any time soon, McKay told MTV that he and Ferrell are planning on making a sequel to either 2008’s Step Brothers or The Other Guys. McKay also hinted about another project that would reunite Ferrell with John C. Reilly, his Step Brothers co-star.
In the interview McKay explains that whatever sequel gets made, it will come after his next projects, The Boys and the Lee Atwater biopic, the latter of which he co-writes with Jesse Armstrong of In the Loop fame.
As for The Boys, it will be adapted from Garth Ennis’ comic about a Black Ops team who monitors all superheroes for the CIA. However, when the girlfriend of a Scottish conspiracy nut named Wee Hughie is killed, he is inducted to join the group when they’re reformed to take down rogue superheroes who have gotten out of control.
Personally, the only sequel that makes sense is The Other Guys. While Step Brothers is funny in spurts, The Other Guys is probably McKay’s best comedy from a narrative standpoint thus far. Plus I’d rather see more misadventures of Detectives Hoitz (Mark Wahlberg) and Gamble (Ferrell). It could be about a robbery at Bed Bath & Beyond, where their captain (Michael Keaton) works so that he can send his son to college, that escalates to a huge conspiracy involving the New York Yankees. Hoitz vs. Jeter II.
