Summary
With over seven years gone since the first movie hit theaters, Lamorne Morris weighs in on the chances ofGame Night 2. The 2018 comedy thriller revolved around a group of friends whose regular game night gathering turns into chaos when the brother of the group’s leader is kidnapped by real criminals, resulting in a race against time to save him and put their gaming skills to use. Featuring an ensemble cast with the likes of Jason Bateman, Rachel McAdams, Billy Magnussen, Morris and Sharon Horgan, among others,Game Nightwas a critical and commercial hitupon release.
During a recent interview withScreen Rant, Morris was asked his thoughts on the chances of aGame Nightsequel.The star remained hopeful about the possibility of a follow-upto the 2018 comedy, acknowledging that the original’s ending “set itself up for a sequel” and expressing his hopes to reunite with his co-stars and directors John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, even being open to appearing in their potentialDungeons & Dragonssequel. See what Morris said below:
I would love one, are you kidding me? It set itself up for a sequel, and I just had so much fun working on that project. We shot in Atlanta, which is one of my favorite cities to be in. And the cast is great. Everyone was super kind, super nice. I had a lot of nerves going into it, working with Jason Bateman and Rachel McAdams and Jeffrey Wright. All these folks on this movie, Michael C. Hall, I thought, “Oh my god, these are iconic, iconic actors.” Kyle Chandler. “These are folks that I admire so much, I’m a little nervous.” They made it feel like you were in the most comfortable of spots. Jason was so loose on set, improvised a lot. Rachel would throw barbecues at her house often. It just created a [warm] environment. If you’re working on a project, you want your leads, the stars of your whatever it is you’re doing, to lead by example, and that’s what they did. They made it really comfortable for us, and really easy for us. So, we got to perform at the best of our abilities. And the same with John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, they laid an environment out for us that was super, super easy. If we get a chance to do that again, it’s a no-brainer.
Game Night 2 Does Have Multiple Hurdles Facing it
Cast availability, studio changes and director interest all prove a problem.
This isn’t the first time Morris has shared his hopes foraGame Nightsequel, expressing earlier this year that he was keen to see a follow-up, though his prior comments also show one of the hurdles it faces in getting made, which isa lack of interest from one of the movie’s directors in returning. This lines up with Goldstein’s comments in early 2023 about the unlikelihood of a sequel happening, feeling that “it might be hard to top what we did” in the original. Though a new director could certainly be found, Daley and Goldstein’s unique style is part of what critics loved about the first movie.
Another major hurdle facingGame Night 2from getting made isthe availability of its star-studded cast. Bateman continues to be a sought-after talent both in front of and behind the camera, while McAdams' acting career remains in full swing following her recent roles inAre You There God? It’s Me, MargaretandDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Both Morris and Magnussen have also seen recent upticks in their acting roles, with the former set to star inthe Nicolas Cage-ledSpider-Man Noirseriesand the latter set for Disney’s live-actionLilo & Stitchremake.
Morris also recently landed his first Primetime Emmy nomination for his role inFargoseason 5.
Potentially the biggest hurdle forGame Night 2to get off the ground isthe recent changes in Warner Bros.' leadership following the Discovery merger. The studio and their subsidiary, New Line Cinema, have moved away from many of their old production practices, including smaller R-rated comedies, making a sequel to Bateman and Morris' comedy far less of a priority than ensuring their tentpole projects clear up the debt CEO David Zaslav is still managing. That said, with the firstGame Nightmaking triple its budget, a strong pitch for a sequel could still sway them.
Game Night
Cast
Written by Mark Perez and directed by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein. Starring Jason Bateman, Billy Magnussen, Rachel McAdams, and Sharon Horgan, the 2018 Comedy sees a routine game night turn into a mystery when one of the regular members is kidnapped.
