Last month marked the 20th anniversary of a classic comedy, Big Fat Liar. The Universal film that starred big young stars of the early '00s, Frankie Muniz and Amanda Bynes, as teens who get back at Paul Giamatti’s Hollywood executive after he steals Muniz's character's creative writing assignment. Big Fat Liar’s director Shawn Levy apparently has “dreams” to make a sequel, and the idea is amazing.
Shawn Levy has a new family-focused film called The Adam Project hitting Netflix this Friday. While speaking to CinemaBlend, the conversation moved to Big Fat Liar, which Levy admitted he’s been thinking about revisiting for some time:
I’m still harboring dreams of a Marty Wolf revenge sequel. (Crosses fingers) Still time. If I can do a Real Steel series on Disney+, I gotta be able to do the return of Marty Wolf.
As Shawn Levy shared during the interview, he was told about the anniversary via Twitter, but didn’t end up having time to “properly honor the occasion.” Even so, he already has an idea in the bag for a sequel. It sounds like the director wants to make another Big Fat Liar movie centering on Paul Giamatti’s scummy Hollywood producer getting back at those kids for ruining his life (and turning him blue).
Big Fat Liar was the filmmaker's second-ever movie, and his first studio hit. It led him to make a host of other successful movies, like Cheaper by the Dozen, The Pink Panther, the Night at the Museum movies, Date Night and Real Steel. Shawn Levy has been on a roll as of late, recently linking up with Ryan Reynolds for both Free Guy and The Adam Project. As the director shared, he’s already making a Real Steel Disney+ series, so why not Big Fat Liar too?
One major problem Shawn Levy might run into when making a Big Fat Liar sequel is the fact that the former child stars that made the movie so charming are not really making movies anymore. Amanda Bynes last role was in 2010’s Easy A before dealing with mental health and substance abuse struggles. Bynes is currently filing to end a conservatorship following Britney Spear’s related victory. Frankie Muniz may be more up to it, as he's done roles here and there over the years, but he's also a new dad nowadays.
While Shawn Levy continues to drum up his Big Fat Liar ideas, his latest movie, The Adam Project, is getting a lot of praise online, including through CinemaBlend’s review. Our own Mike Reyes awarded the film 3.5 out of 5, saying it’s a “thrill ride that occasionally causes one's eyes to well up”. You can check out the movie starring Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldaña, Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo with a Netflix subscription on March 11.
