Anchorman is one of those movies with fans bordering on the obsessive. That dedication eventually led to a sequel. It seems unlikely there will ever be an Anchorman 3, but if there is, we know what it will be about. Our own Conner Schwerdtfeger had a chance to sit down with Anchorman writer/director Adam McKay, who gave us details on where he sees Ron Burgandy going if there ever was a third installment. It's an idea we've heard before, indicating the writer really likes the concept and may be wanting to see this movie happen. According to McKay...
I can give you like a little half sentence. I don't know if you remember the first and even the second Iraq war. Maybe it was mainly the second Iraq war. They embedded journalists and that gave us kind of a whole story idea... I don't want to say too much, but I'll just tell you that embedded journalist, Ron Burgundy, Veronica Corningstone, the news team. That definitely gave us a big idea.
This isn't the first time that Adam McKay has mentioned the idea of embedding Ron Burgandy and company with the military, having first suggested the idea a couple of years ago. However, the fact that the idea is still there, and the fact that McKay isn't talking more about details of the idea, would seem to indicate that he's still interested in making the movie. If the chances of making Anchorman 3 were zero, he'd likely be more forthcoming, but he doesn't want to say too much.
It's a far cry from where Adam McKay was around the time that Anchorman 2 came out, when he basically wrote off the idea of ever doing an Anchorman 3. It seems that he may have softened to the idea over time as he now seems to be sold on this particular story. Previously, McKay had also toyed with a "new media" focused movie, that saw the Anchorman team, one assumes, in a modern setting having to deal with the world of the internet, but now it appears he's decoded on the embedded reporter idea.
Of course, none of this means that we should expect Anchorman 3 anytime soon. While Will Ferrell has taken a "never say never" approach, it doesn't appear like anybody is really pushing to make another Ron Burgandy movie happen. There are almost certainly fans who would love to see it, but behind the camera, everybody appears to be doing fine with other things and there isn't a serious desire to see this one happen. Still, we never thought we'd see Anchorman 2 before that one went into production, so perhaps there's some hope that we'll see Ron Burgandy and friends reporting on a war somewhere down the line.
