In surprising but very welcome news, Lionsgate and Amazon Studios have announced that 2018 thriller movie A Simple Favour would be getting a sequel — with Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick both set to return along with director Paul Feig.
2018’s A Simple Favour was a dark comedy movie based on the 2017 novel of the same name. Kendrick starred as Stephanie, a recently-widowed single mother and vlogger who is befriended by the charming and mysterious Emily, played by Lively. When Emily suddenly disappears one day, Stephanie decided to turn detective and uncover the truth about what happened — but she comes across several skeletons in Emily’s closet along the way.
The murderous drama movie was incredibly popular both commercially and critically. As well as holding an 84% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the film grossed $97 million at the global box office. Although plot details and release date timelines haven’t yet been announced, Variety reports that Feig will be producing the flick alongside Laura Fischer. Meanwhile, Jessica Sharzer is set to write the screenplay and executive produce.
Director Paul Feig has previously been open about his hopes of making a follow-up to the detective movie. In 2018, during an appearance on the BUILD series on YouTube, he said that A Simple Favour was “definitely a sequel-able film” and added that he would “love to keep these characters going.”
Then, in 2020, he said on Twitter that he had a “great idea” for a potential sequel and would “be happy to do it for whatever studio or streamer would want it.”
Looks like someone has been manifesting!