Warning: Spoilers for The Boss Baby are present throughout, and the ending of the film is openly discussed. If you have't seen the film, and would like to avoid the details, please bookmark this story and come back once you've seen the film.
At the end of the hijinks in The Boss Baby, it is revealed that the film's narrative was a story being told by the grown-up version of Tim to his own daughter. The occasion is, naturally, the birth of Tim's second child, and the father is trying to assure his daughter that siblings can indeed share the love. With the message set in stone, the film ends on one final shot, the newborn dressed as another Boss Baby, that feels like a set-up for a sequel. As it turns out, screenwriter Michael McCullers has a definitive answer in regards to whether that's the truth or not, and the answer is no.
This knowledge comes out of a conversation between McCullers and The Hollywood Reporter, as the subject of the intentions the finale had in mind were a matter of discussion. As it turns out, the decision to include that moment didn't come from The Boss Baby's scribe, but someone else in the decision-making process. Michael McCullers recalls the process as follows:
I can't even remember who came up with that. We're just trying to tell the best story with the characters. It's in no way meant to be a twist or for a sequel. The producers just had a little fun at the end.
Now just because Michael McCullers says that this piece of would-be sequel baiting isn't directly alluding to a sequel to The Boss Baby, doesn't mean the possibility is off the table completely. In fact, the former SNL writer and Mike Myers collaborator is thrilled at the possibility, and thinks that anything from babies of different professions to even the adoption of a puppy could make for an interesting sequel. With the first film's central plot revolving around the war between babies and dogs for attention, the latter option sounds like the safer and more logical route. So there's a chance that if The Boss Baby 2: Nap Harder gets an announcement in the next couple of months, that'll be the story they'll go with.
But would it be worth following up The Boss Baby with another installment? Considering the film took the top spot at the box office last weekend, and has grossed $111 million of its $125 million budget in the first weekend, it's safe to say that the top brass at Dreamworks Animation and 20th Century Fox will be entering some preliminary discussions to make a second trip to the crib a reality. This is good news for the studio that's been plagued with some troubled times in the past couple of years, but it will be interesting to see if the film remains at its home studio, or will transfer over to Universal, the current studio partner of Dreamworks Animation.
While the final scene of Tim's newborn daughter triumphantly revealing her Boss Baby attire may not have been intended to spark the flame of a sequel, it's certainly lit a fire underneath Michael McCullers. Depending on how these next couple of weekends shake out for The Boss Baby, we'll see where all of this talk leads. For now, you can catch The Boss Baby in theaters, with your choice of regular or 3D flavored eye candy.
