As it combined the hilarity forces that are Sandra Bullock and Melissa McCarthy, we suspected The Heat would be on bad-ass action-comedy. And it undoubtedly is. Not only has it won critical praise, but the R-rated buddy cop caper has proved a big hit for Fox, banking more than $150 million worldwide to date. With numbers like that, a sequel seems a no-brainer, but one half of the funny film’s leading ladies isn’t quite on board with for bringing back The Heat. Bullock was blunt about her standing on a sequel, telling EW:
“I know they say never say never, but right now, I can’t imagine it.”
To be fair, Bullock’s distaste for sequels is well earned. Memorably, Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous was critically reviled and earned less than half the first film’s box office. Then of course there’s the disastrous Speed 2: Cruise Control which lazily swapped out Keanu Reeves for Jason Patric, and proved a box office bomb that managed just a 3% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And Bullock knows it. “If you look back on my illustrious sequel work nothing has proven successful,” Bullock laughed. “A sequel is such a daunting thing, because you don’t want to lose the magic and the charm of the first one.”
Still, while clearly reluctant, she’s not totally closing the door to The Heat 2, offering this caveat:
“I don’t want to ruin what Melissa and I had. If a miracle happens where [a script] shows up that really and truly outdid the first and provided an experience that was better than the first one, then I would look at it. But I’m not there.”
That’s cool. Bullock has time to get there. And in the meantime, The Heat’s screenwriter Katie Dippold might be able to come up with a new and enthralling adventure for Boston cop Shannon Mullins and FBI special agent Sarah Ashburn. Betting on the film being a hit, 20th Century Fox hired her to begin developing a sequel two months before the film made its theatrical premiere. For now Dippold has been mum on what part two might entail, but The Heat’s helmer Paul Feig told EW, "We had an idea that we thought was really fun." So bonus news, it seems like the director who brought us Bridesmaids will be on board if The Heat 2 happens.
Speaking of Bridesmaids, the comedy that made McCarthy a movie force was also rumored for a sequel that one of its leading ladies—in that case Kristen Wiig—clearly had no immediate interest in. As Wiig was also that film’s co-screenwriter, her disinterest pretty much killed that would-be franchise’s momentum. But with Bullock free to take on other projects, she can leave it to Feig and Dippold to iron out the script. Actually, it’s a good sign that Bullock is being this thoughtful about the possible sequel. Between her, McCarthy, Feig and Dippold, Heat 2 could become one of those rare buddy cop comedy sequels that works! You know, if it gets made.
