Paul Feig's The Heat was a big hit when it was released in 2013. The director's follow-up to Bridesmaids, the film had the duo of Melissa McCarthy and Sandra Bullock to draw in crowds, and they most definitely did. It made more than enough to warrant the making of a sequel, but there is one very important reason why it hasn't happened yet: Sandra Bullock doesn't want to do it.
I attended the Ghostbusters junket in Los Angeles this week, and it was while sitting down with writer/producer Katie Dippold that I got an update on The Heat 2 and why it isn't happening. After a long discussion about her work on the new horror comedy, I asked about the sequel to her first collaboration with Paul Feig, and she explained why the project is a no-go for now. Said Dippold, jokingly projecting the final sentence through cupped hands,
Heat 2 is not going to happen, unfortunately, unless we can get Sandra Bullock to change her mind. And I'm still hoping she will. She's a lovely woman, a phenomenal actress and comedic performer, and I'm hoping she hears these words [laughter] because I really want to do it!
There's little doubt that the folks at 20th Century Fox would love to see Sandra Bullock change her mind as well. It's true that the first The Heat only opened at number two - behind Monsters University in its second week - but it proved to have impressive legs through July 2013. By the end of its global theatrical run, the action film made for just $43 million managed to pull in a worldwide total of $230 million. Unfortunately for fans of the first who want to see a sequel, it would be pretty damn hard to make one without Sandra Bullock -- and it's pretty hard to imagine them actually wanting to see that anyway.
For now, Katie Dippold has the forthcoming release of Ghostbusters keeping her busy, not to mention the start of production on her next project -- the untitled Amy Schumer/Goldie Hawn mother-daughter comedy that is being directed by Jonathan Levine. That film, which will also feature Christopher Meloni, Ike Barinholtz, Randall Park and Wanda Sykes, has just started production (Dippold came over from the set for the Ghostbusters press day), and is being planned for release Mother's Day weekend in 2017.
Where do you all stand on this? Would you want to see Sandra Bullock change her mind about doing The Heat 2, or do you understand her avoidance of sequels after a career that includes Speed 2: Cruise Control and Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous? Hit the comments section below with your thoughts!
