Earlier today some more details emerged on the sequel to “21 Jump Street,” a film that has taken the slow and steady approach to getting in front of cameras. Production now looks likely to be underway on “21 Jump Street 2” at least 18 months after the first film hit theaters, and that’s a gap that a couple of upcoming comedies are hoping to avoid should their first installments prove a success.
Both “The Heat” – Paul Feig’s Sandra Bullock–Melissa McCarthy buddy cop comedy due for release on June 28 – and “Ride Along” – Tim Story’s Ice Cube–Kevin Hart buddy cop comedy due for release January 17, 2014 – have tentatively started work on sequels. Now whether this bodes well for the prospective quality/profitability of the two movies or whether it’s simply a case of overconfidence remains to be seen, but we’re certainly hoping that it points to the former.
“The Heat” was written by “Parks and Recreation” vet Katie Dippold, and Deadline are reporting that Fox have already made a “pricey deal” with her to script the sequel. That’s on top of another comedy vehicle she’s penning specifically for Feig, so it certainly seems like her stock is rising fast. “Ride Along,” meanwhile, has six credited screenwriters, which usually doesn’t bode all that well, but it’s Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay who are in preliminary talks to write a sequel. Universal must be pretty confident they’ve got a hit on their hands, because that movie’s still nine months away and we haven’t had a shred of marketing to react to either. Of course, if either of the two tank the sequel would quietly disappear, but if not then get ready for a whole load of funny cops in the next few years.