Just when it looked like things were going so well for the upcoming Horrible Bosses 2 - the film bringing back its three main stars and getting a script from the writers of the original - the project has lost its director. According to The Hollywood Reporter, filmmaker Seth Gordon was originally planning to come back and make the comedy sequel, but has now been forced out due to scheduling conflicts. New Line Cinema. however, only sees this situation as a speed bump and is still planning to have cameras rolling this fall.
Apparently the problem for Gordon, who broke out directing the video-game documentary The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, is that he simply has too much on his plate right now. He is currently executive producing and directed the pilot for the upcoming ABC comedy series The Goldbergs, which stars Jeff Garlin, Wendi McLendon-Covey, and Troy Gentile, and, according to the trade, he has "several other projects" in stages of development as well (though they don't mention any other titles). Gordon most recently directed the extremely successful road trip comedy Identity Thief, which came out back in February and made $134 million domestically by the end of its run.
If New Line wants to keep the production on schedule they will have to find a new director very quickly, and chances are it won't be too difficult a task. When the first Horrible Bosses came out in 2011 it was actually a sizable hit, making $209 million internationally on a small $35 million budget, so it's easy to why see any young comedy filmmaker would want a piece of the action. Plus, the job comes with the opportunity to work with Charlie Day, Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis, and who wouldn't want to do that?
Even once a director is found there's still a lot of work to do, as Day, Bateman and Sudeikis likely won't be starring in the movie alone. Because of the way the first movie ended, it's unlikely that Kevin Spacey, Jennifer Aniston, or Colin Farrell are going to be coming back for part two, so there will be a star power gap that needs to be filled. There are also question marks about a potential role for Jamie Foxx in the film, the Oscar winning actor having played murder consultant Dean 'Motherfucker' Jones in the last movie. When we last heard about the project in March it was said that Foxx was in talks, but the new report doesn't mention his involvement.
We'll likely be hearing about a new Horrible Bosses 2 director in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
