'A Simple Favor' Sequel Is Coming Out In May - Kendrick Shared Her Thoughts On The Film
The 2018 film A Simple Favor starring Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively was a sleeper hit, gaining even more of a following in the years after its release. The comedic thriller, based on the Darcey Bell novel of the same name, is now getting an unexpected follow-up. The upcoming sequel was announced in May 2022, but there’s finally more news about what fans can expect from Another Simple Favor.
Here’s everything we know so far. (Spoilers ahead for A Simple Favor.)
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What is Another Simple Favor about?
The original film follows the story of two mothers who become unlikely friends: Stephanie, played by Kendrick, and Emily, played by Lively. Stephanie is an unpopular vlogger in Connecticut, while Emily is a glamorous career woman in their hometown. Emily suddenly goes missing, prompting Stephanie to try and figure out the mystery and implicating them both. The movie ends with Emily landing in prison.
In a synopsis shared by Deadline, the second film will see the 'return of Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) as they head to the beautiful island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman. Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square.'
Sounds like Emily has made her escape.
In an interview with ELLE.com, Kendrick shared a bit about her take on the new material.
'I’ll say that I know that the standard selling point for any sequel is like, it’s even crazier than the first one, but this is,' she warned. 'I’m not worried about saying that, because you’ll see it and you’ll be like, Jesus Christ. In that first movie that I was like, "Are we going to really alienate the audience with the whole half brother storyline?" People were just like, "Nope, love it. We love it."'
She added, 'I had more of the same where I was like, are people going to get on board with this? I also think that Paul [Feig, the director] is kind of a weird evil genius, because he’s such a sweetheart, but there’s some kind of dark magic going on up there where he can get you to buy in on my character having sex with her half brother.'
Who is in the cast of Another Simple Favor?
It’s been announced that both Lively and Kendrick will return, as well as Henry Golding as Emily’s husband. Also expected to return are Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack. Director Paul Feig is set to return as well, along with screenwriter Jessica Sharzer.
When will Another Simple Favor be released?
In an announcement on X, formerly Twitter, Feig announced that the movie will be released on Prime Video on May 1, 2025.
Prior to streaming, the film will have a major festival debut on opening night of the 2025 SXSW Film & TV Festival on March 7.
Feig said of launching the film at the event, 'I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at my favourite festival in the world where we successfully launched Bridesmaids and Spy, and I cannot begin to say how honoured I am to have our film opening it all. I’ve avoided making sequels to any of my films but these characters were just too much fun not to revisit.'
In March 2024, Variety reported there was a 'spring start-of-production,' and Kendrick confirmed they hit their target in October 2024.
'I was so happy. We filmed it in Italy this spring and summer,' she shared. 'It felt like it wasn’t ever actually going to come together. Then it did, and the script was awesome. It’s really dark and fucked up in all the ways that the first one was.'
This story will be updated.
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