Anna Kendrick teased Wednesday that “A Simple Favor 2” with co-star Blake Lively “really ups the ante” for fans of the popular comedic thriller from 2018.
“You’re in for a treat because the second [‘A Simple Favor’] really ups the ante,” said of the upcoming release during a recent appearance on SiriusXM’s “The Jess Cagle Show With Julia Cunningham.“
“Bridesmaids” and “Jackpot” filmmaker Paul Feig returns to direct the sequel, as well.
Watch a clip from Kendrick’s interview below:
At the time, Cagle and Cunningham were sharing their love of the first movie while asking Kendrick about her plans to continue directing. (She makes her feature film directorial debut with the Sundance hit “Woman of the Hour,” streaming Oct. 18 on Sundance.) The “Pitch Perfect” actress said she wants to find the right project for her get back behind the camera.
“I feel like the challenge right now is to find something that I feel as passionately about [as ‘Woman of the Hour’],” Kendrick explained. “I really, really hit the jackpot with this story and the cast and the crew. And on the one hand, everything went wrong and on the other hand, all the people that showed up were so marvelous and talented and passionate and treated the material with a real reverence and dignity, so it’s kind of daunting to imagine finding all of that again.”
As far as sitting in the director’s chair for “A Simple Favor 2,” Kendrick said she wants to leave that “magic” to Feig.
“I could not possibly get inside the magic that makes those movies work. Believe me,” Kendrick shared. “Every day on the first one, on the second one, I’m going, ‘Paul, does this make sense? Is this OK?’ Because I’m sorry, those movies are insane, so I’m very glad that I’m not responsible for that because he’s got that magic mind that makes it all work in spite of the fact that none of it should work. So, very grateful that Paul is around and wanted to do the second one.”
As TheWrap previously reported, “A Simple Favor 2” will head straight to Prime Video, though Lionsgate released the first film in theaters. MGM Studios and Lionsgate greenlit “A Simple Favor 2” back in March, with Lively also returning to her role.
The second movie brings Stephanie (Kendrick) and Emily (Lively) back together on the island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s wedding to a rich Italian businessman. “Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square,” the official synopsis teases.
In addition to Kendrick and Lively, Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho and Kelly McCormack will also return in their roles from the first feature.
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