As of today, Rawson Marshall Thurber’s pot comedy We’re the Millers has grossed over $113 million domestically from a $37 million budget. So it’s not that big of a surprise that New Line is bringing two of that film’s screenwriters, Sean Anders and John Morris, on board to take over another vulgar comedy, Horrible Bosses 2. This probably isn't going to be seen as good news for anyone who really enjoyed Horrible Bosses, as these guys aren’t exactly weighed down with comedic pedigree.
Anders will be serving as the film’s director, while Morris will be a producer. Both of them recently revised the script originally written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, who co-wrote the original. The last two movies that Anders directed were the Adam Sandler shitfest That’s My Boy and 2008’s not-terrible comedy Sex Drive. He and Morris co-wrote such classics as 2010’s She’s Out of My League and Hot Tub Time Machine, and 2011’s Mr. Popper’s Penguins. And they’re only getting more popular, as they co-wrote the script for the upcoming sequel Dumb and Dumber To - which is actually moving forward - and also wrote a draft for Beth Carthy-Miller’s upcoming comedy Mean Moms, which is also in development at New Line.
I hate to be so skeptical here, as I enjoyed the hell out of Horrible Bosses in spite of its obvious faults. I felt the exact same way about Hot Tub Time Machine, so if they can just mesh these two films together I’ll be most grateful. But I really don't understand is where the story will be heading in the sequel, as the first movie wrapped everything up pretty nicely.
For a while it was looking like director Seth Gordon would be coming back to make the sequel as a follow-up to Identity Thief, another high-grossing R-rated flick, but he dropped out last month due to scheduling issues. The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news about Anders and Morris signing on for the sequel, says that the duo were up against Todd Strauss-Schulson, who directed A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas. As cool as it would be to see Charlie Day, Jason Sudekis and Jason Bateman in a claymation sequence, I’m not sure Strauss-Schulson would make this sound any better.
All three principal stars will return for the sequel, as will Jamie Foxx’s expletive-spewing murder consultant. I wouldn’t assume anyone else is coming back, but there will probably be cameos galore (it's too bad considering I would watch a whole movie about Colin Farrell’s douchebag cokehead character).
Did you guys go and see We’re the Millers yet? Do these guys have what it takes to make Horrible Bosses 2 anything more than horrible? Let us know in the comments after you watch the below trailer.
