A Simple Favor 2 is officially happening with stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively returning. Based on the 2017 novel of the same name by Darcey Bell and released in 2018, A Simple Favor follows the Pitch Perfect star as Stephanie Smothers, a widowed single mother and small-town vlogger who befriends a secretive upper-class woman, Emily Nelson (played by Lively). When Emily suddenly goes missing, Stephanie takes it upon herself to uncover the truth behind her disappearance.
Kendrick and Lively lead the cast of A Simple Favor along with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Linda Cardellini, Rupert Friend, and Jean Smart in supporting roles. Paul Feig directed the thriller based on a script written by Jessica Sharzer (American Horror Story). A Simple Favor was a solid critical and commercial success for Lionsgate, nearly hitting the $100 million mark on a mere $20 million budget, and boasting a strong 84% score on the Tomatometer. Considering the movie's open-ended nature, audiences have always wondered about a potential sequel.
Now, A Simple Favor 2 is officially a go, as reported by Deadline. Lionsgate is teaming up with Amazon Studios for the project and getting most of the original cast back together. Kendrick and Lively have agreed to reprise their roles, while Feig will be returning to direct with Sharzer once again penning the script.
While this news seems to have come out of nowhere, Feig has been teasing the possibility of A Simple Favor sequel on Twitter for years. Though no details on the plot have been provided, Feige revealed as early as 2020 that he has "a great idea" for A Simple Favor 2 and would “be happy to do it for whatever studio or streamer would want it.” While the 2018 film was adapted from a novel, there are currently no other installments in the book series by Bell, meaning Feig and Sharzer won't have any source material to work with this time around and will be left to their own devices as they try to recapture the magic of the first film.
A Simple Favor was one of the most pleasant surprises of 2018, as it immediately garnered positive reactions from critics for its plot twists, performances, black comedy, and Hitchcockian elements. Despite a strong box office haul, the movie didn't really break out until it hit streaming services like Hulu and Amazon Prime the following year. Therefore, considering Feig's streamer comment and the fact Amazon Studios is co-producing, A Simple Favor 2 could very well be planned as an Amazon Prime exclusive. Only time will tell for sure as more details about the sequel are revealed.
Source: Deadline