MacGruber 2 Has An Outline, Might Actually Happen

While MacGruber wasn't a hit at the box
office or with critics, the action-comedy's
reputation has grown in the years since its
release. But could fan fervor lead to
MacGruber 2? It's would-be star Will Forte
weighs in.
While promoting his upcoming release Life of
Crime, Will Forte offered an update on the
development of MacGruber 2. Speaking to
Collider, he said:
"I’m very proud of that movie.
(Director) Jorma [Taccone] just
sent an outline for MacGruber 2 .
We had worked together on
something and I had fleshed out
the first act of MacGruber 2. He
took that and went nuts on the
rest of it. I’m very excited
because I feel like at some point,
if somebody will let us do it, then
we’ll do it. But it’s out of our
hands. But we’re writing it for
sure."
To be perfectly frank, the first MacGruber
was a movie that on paper looked like a
horrible idea. A feature-length film based on
a funny but repetitive Saturday Night Live
sketch? This seemed sure to be closer to It's
Pat than The Blues Brothers. Basically,
MacGruber shouldn’t have worked. And in
traditional terms, it didn't.
MGM spent only $10 million to get the movie
made with Will Forte, Val Kilmer, Ryan Phillipe
and pre- Bridesmaids Kristen Wiig and Maya
Rudolph. But the $10-million comedy only
played in theaters for three weeks, pulling in
$8.5 million. Critics were rough, with The
New York Times A.O. Scott asking outright,
"Why does this exist?" But once the dust
settled, comedy fans began singing the
praises of this misunderstood effort,
recognizing it for the crazy diamond it is. And
before long, Forte was being asked about the
possibility of a sequel.
MacGruber director Jorma Taccone first
confessed that MacGruber 2 was a
consideration in the spring of 2012. But
shortly thereafter, Forte shut down sequel
talk, explaining, "We're proud of it, and we
jokingly talk about the sequel all the time.
But I don't think anybody in their right mind
would give us any money for it."
This seems to be a refrain he's repeating
now, but with more hope behind it. By the
following year, Will Forte was feeling good
about MacGruber 2 once, more, declaring:
"We are going to make MacGruber 2 for sure.
Whether we have to do it with a video
camera in our backyards – there will be
some form of MacGruber 2."
For the time being, it seems financing
MacGruber 2 is not an immediate concern as
Forte and Taccone as still knitting together a
script. But once it's complete, they could
have a decent pitch. First off, Kristen Wiig
has become considerably more famous since
MacGruber hit. So if she'd sign on, they'd
have some notable box office drawing power.
And if these funny filmmakers want to prove
to a producer that their sequel has an
audience, they could go the route of
Kickstarter, like Veronica Mars did.
Some creative casting and fundraising could
make MacGruber 2 a reality. But regardless, it
sounds like it's one that's still a ways off.