Danny DeVito offers an update on the Twins sequel Triplets, saying he’s still waiting on a script. Released in 1988, Twins featured the unlikely pairing of DeVito and Arnold Schwarzenegger as long lost twin siblings being reunited. Capitalizing on the odd couple appeal of the two stars, Twins was a smash hit with $216 million grossed at the box office.
DeVito and Schwarzenegger were such a brilliant pairing in Twins that the two later returned for the movie Junior, in which Schwarzenegger played a scientist who became the world’s first pregnant man. With the DeVito-Schwarzenegger team firmly established, it seemed more comedy vehicles would be in the offing, including a potential sequel to Twins. Indeed, ideas for a Twins sequel have floated around for years, and in 2018 it was even reported that cameras were getting set to roll on the planned film, going under the title Triplets, and that Eddie Murphy would join DeVito and Schwarzenegger to create a classic comedy trio (hence the new title). Unfortunately, there have been no further updates about the movie since the 2018 reports.
Speaking to DeVito during press for Jumanji: The Next Level, which sees the actor pairing with another action hero in Dwayne Johnson, Screen Rant was able to get a report on the status of Triplets, and sadly it seems stories about a script being finished and the film being ready to go before cameras were not quite accurate. DeVito said:
As soon as we have what you call, this thing that we get. Actors get and directors get, it’s called a screenplay. (Laughs) There’s an idea and then there’s a screenplay so when that happens we’re gonna be rolling.
DeVito’s remarks directly contradict the earlier news, which in fact came from Schwarzenegger himself, that a script was ready and the film was set to go ahead. Given DeVito’s confirmation that he has not in fact received a script, it’s fair to wonder where Triplets even is in its development, and whether Murphy is actually still involved. Murphy of course is currently in the middle of a renaissance with Dolemite is My Name receiving awards buzz, his return to SNL in the offing and the sequels Coming 2 America and Beverly Hills Cop 4 on the horizon.
DeVito himself continues to be a constant comedy presence of course, with his on-going role on It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and his upcoming part in the Jumanji sequel. And Schwarzenegger keeps on milking his status as an action icon, though his clout is clearly diminished after Terminator: Dark Fate disappointed at the box office.
It’s yet to be seen if Triplets will ever make it from the idea stage to the big screen, but as of now it seems fans of DeVito, Schwarzenegger and Murphy at best have a long wait ahead of them before the classic trio gets together. On the plus side, at least DeVito confirmed that the movie is ready to roll if that script ever does get delivered.