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 A Simple Favor 2.
Here’s everything we know so far. Spoilers ahead for A Simple Favor.
What is A Simple Favor 2 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 being 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 A Simple Favor 2?
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 A Simple Favor 2 be released?
In March this year, 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.”
There’s still no release date, but that’s a huge step forward. It’s being produced by Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate, and will head straight to Prime Video for streaming.
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.