The summer of 2011 was a milestone season for the R-rated comedy. While not every title was a success - I think we can all just forget that The Change-Up ever happened - and reviews were wide-ranging, audiences came out in droves for Bridesmaids, The Hangover Part II, Horrible Bosses and Bad Teacher. All of them pulled in over $100 million each domestically by the end of their runs, and have had a major impact on the comedy genre as a whole, making breakout stars out of Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis, and each one producing some degree of sequel talks (and in the case of The Hangover, an actual sequel). But only one of them has a bizarre multi-platform future.
While just last month it was announced that CBS would be hosting at least one season of a TV adaptation of the film, with Ari Graynor taking over the titular role, apparently Sony isn't done with the title yet on the features side. According to Deadline, the studio has announced that the studio has officially put Bad Teacher 2 in motion. Jake Kasdan, who directed the last film, will be back and the helm and a script is being written by newcomer Justin Malen. Kasdan, Malen. Jimmy Miller, Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky are all set to produce the movie, the last two on that list being the writers of the first movie. They are hoping that Cameron Diaz will be back to play the eponymous role, but at this time there is no contract in place with the actress.
In the first film Diaz played a lazy, irresponsible, gold-digging teacher named Elizabeth Halsey who sees a path towards a life of luxury when she meets Scott Delacorte (Justin Timberlake), a new substitute teacher and heir to a fortune. She attempts to woo him in order to get at his bank account, but her plans are met with resistance by Amy Squirrel (Lucy Punch), Elizabeth's high-strung, goody two shoes colleague. The film also featured a terrific comedic supporting cast that included Jason Segel, John Michael Higgins and Dave Allen.
The Deadline article only mentions the TV show in passing and fails to say how it and the movie will co-exist. The plot description of the series says that the show will begin with the character getting divorced from a rich husband and forced to get a job as a teacher, which is pretty identical to the first film (where she is simply returning to an old job). Graynor isn't playing the same character as Diaz's, but it's still strange that there would be a film series and a TV series going on at the same time with the exact same premise and title (unlike, say Anger Management, which is seemingly done as far as movies go).
News of a sequel to any film is typically met with a mixed reaction, but how do you feel about the idea of a Bad Teacher 2? Answer our poll and head to the comments to tell us what you think!
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