Paul Feig Explains Why a ‘Bridesmaids’ Sequel Isn’t Going to Happen
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Though Paul Feig’s “Bridesmaids” scored more than $288 million at the worldwide box office back in 2011, becoming a comedy classic and inspiring many an imitation of the film’s winning formula, a sequel likely won’t be happening. Feig explained why that is in an interview with Collider about his career, which most recently includes executive-producing the upcoming HBO Max series “Love Life” via his Feigco Entertainment.
“Everybody thinks they want a ‘Bridesmaids’ sequel, and it could be fun, but I always have to say this,” Feig said. “‘Bridesmaids’ works — you remember all the comedy stuff, that was great, but the reason that movie worked is because it was about Kristen Wiig’s character, who was a very confident person before the movie began, who has this total crash because her bakery goes out of business and everything falls apart in her life. So we meet her and she’s a disaster. She’s desperately trying to hang onto this one thing, which is her friendship with Maya Rudolph’s character, and that takes her through the fire.”
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The movie earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Wiig and Annie Mumolo, with Wiig doing double duty starring in the movie as a woman whose best friend’s (Rudolph) wedding challenges their relationship. “That’s why all this stuff happens, because she’s just acting out and trying desperately to save things, and by the end she heals herself, as much as you can. That’s what you latch onto in that film,” Feig said.
“So to do a sequel, I think you’re basically just gonna have to have a funny wedding. And I’ve seen those movies a million times and some of them are good and some of them are like, okay, whatever. It’s obviously up to Kristen, she’s the keeper of the keys on that, but it would have to be something that you can emotionally engage in again and not just go, ‘It’s Megan’s crazy wedding in the Bahamas!’ and all kinds of hijinks happen. That could be funny, but I just think you need more for a movie to be great.”
While it would be fun to think about what Megan’s wedding in the Bahamas might look like (Megan was played by Melissa McCarthy in an Oscar-nominated supporting role), that does not necessarily make for a good movie.
Paul Feig’s last directorial effort was 2019’s “Last Christmas.” He’s directed a number of hit female-fronted comedies, including “Spy” and “The Heat,” but none have so far seen a sequel.
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