Director Chris Columbus told a San Francisco newspaper, SFGATE, that there will never be a Mrs Doubtfire sequel; “It’s impossible. It’s just impossible…Robin was one-of-a-kind.”
The 1993 hit family movie earned $440 million at the box office and was released during a hugely successful time during Robin Williams‘ career, when he was making movies with broad appeal, from Hook (1991) and Aladdin (1992), to Jumanji (1995).
There actually was a planned sequel to the successful comedy before Williams tragically died in 2014; “The last time I met with Robin before he passed away was about the Mrs Doubtfire sequel,” Columbus says. “We had a script, and it was a great script. Robin was prepared to do it. And then, unfortunately, he passed away.”
A Mrs Doubtfire musical has just opened on Broadway to mixed reviews, with Rob McClure in the lead role. The New York Times says that while the film is “funny and likable and, most important, confident in what it is, its musical counterpart feels unsure of what notes to hit, what jokes to rewrite and what updates to add to be relevant.”
Chris Columbus worked with Williams again, on 1999’s Bicentennial Man and would, of course, go onto direct the first two Harry Potter movies. Columbus recently revealed that Williams wanted to play Professor Lupin in the Potter films, but couldn’t be cast due to being American.
Before Mrs Doubtfire, Columbus directed the ’80s family comedy Adventures in Babysitting and the first two smash-hit Home Alone films. They made over $800 million at the box office combined and are now considered Christmas classics.
Robin Williams’ breakthrough role was in the Happy Days spin-off Mork and Mindy (1978-1982) and his big Hollywood break was in 1987’s Good Morning Vietnam. He would go onto play serious roles in the likes of Dead Poets Society, Awakenings and Good Will Hunting, for which he won the Oscar.
The 2002 thrillers One Hour Photo and Insomnia also showed a different side to a star most associated with comedy movies. One of his last roles was as Teddy Roosevelt in the Night at the Museum franchise.