Can the sexiest man of the 70s truly have met an undefeatable foe...?

It’s stuck in a glass case of development hell...

In the past few days, there’s been some talk on the net about a bigger, crazier idea for an Anchorman sequel, set in the 80s, but it appears the studio is not interested. Writer-director Adam McKay has tweeted that Paramount has basically passed on the proposed sequel to 2004’s quotable cult hit.

The studio was apparently deterred by budgetary concerns, despite the cast (especially Steve Carell and Paul Rudd) reportedly taking significant pay cuts to lower the cost, the fact that the original made back several times its budget, and McKay’s analogy with the Austin Powers franchise, where the popular and moderately successful first film was followed by a far more lucrative sequel.

The original smorgasbord of hilarity starred co-writer Will Ferrell (Talledega Nights, Step Brothers), as well as Christina Applegate (Samantha Who?), Steve Carell (Over the Hedge, Horton Hears a Who!, Get Smart, The Office: An American Workplace), Paul Rudd (Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Monsters vs. Aliens), and David Koechner (Talledega Nights, Snakes on a Plane, Get Smart).

The careers of producer Judd Apatow and the cast have all taken off since then. They’re kind of a big deal; people know them; they’re very important; they have many leather-bound books and their apartments smell of rich mahogany. Despite this, Paramount seemingly took the Anchorman sequel and kicked it off a bridge like Baxter.

McKay later tweeted that it won’t be possible for other studios to make the film, because Paramount owns the rights, so fans will be holding out hope that Paramount learns from Ron Burgundy’s wisdom (“I immediately regret this decision.”) and allows progress to be made on the sequel. If so, then no doubt McKay will keep us updated on where the film’s at; presumably he’ll bark (or tweet) twice if it’s in Milwaukee.

In the meantime, the best hope for fans to be released from this glass case of emotion would seem to be expressing their inner anguish through the majesty of quotes.

Alternatively, more of McKay and Ferrell’s work can be found on their website Funny Or Die, and their next big screen collaboration is the upcoming action comedy The Other Guys, also starring Mark Wahlberg, Samuel L. Jackson, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, which is released on August 6 in the US, and on September 2 in the UK.

Empire

See also:

RAPID REACTION: Anchorman 2 podcast

Cannonball! Anchorman 2 is on its way

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