Just last week, The Naked Gun star Liam Neeson declared he saw no need for a sequel, saying he saw it as a one-off. But that may have just been staking out the audience, as one of the comedy’s producers says that conversations have already taken place.
Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, The Naked Gun producer Erica Huggins said that there has absolutely been talk of adding to the franchise, which stood dormant for over 30 years. “We’ve now had enough conversations among the filmmakers, and certainly with Pam [Anderson] and Liam, too, when we were selling the movie in the blue sky version of what could happen next, yes, we were thinking about where it could go and what it could be. Akiva and Dan and Doug, our writers, we’re all talking about it.”
As of publication, The Naked Gun has taken in around $60 million worldwide, enough to turn a profit. That alone might indicate that Paramount would want to follow up with a sequel, but it’s all but guaranteed that The Naked Gun will pick up a whole new audience once it hits streaming. That additional support might be just what the studio needs to officially get a follow-up going.
With sequel talk already going on for The Naked Gun, Seth MacFarlane – who also serves as producer although he was originally in talks to direct – suggested something that can be read as working against the idea of a fifth movie in the franchise. “The lesson [from the movie’s success] is that people want something that’s outside the usual fare. We’re just so deluged with superhero movies at this point…It’s like Bill Murray in Groundhog Day, when he wakes up on that last morning, says, “Anything different is good.” People want a little more variety on their plate.” And while this year’s The Naked Gun does offer variety – and we’d love to see the spoof have a resurgence if they’re going to be this good – if they keep going with them, then aren’t they just falling in the trap that MacFarlane is speaking of?
Are you game for a sequel to The Naked Gun or should it remain a one-off?
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