‘Tis the season to be jolly, though the Grinch would disagree. More than two decades after the release of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, a sequel to the family comedy film is in the works at Universal and Imagine Entertainment, with three key players set to return.
The first, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is Jim Carrey, who’s expected to reprise his role as the Dr Seuss character, followed by returning director Ron Howard, also producing alongside Brian Grazer under his Imagine Entertainment banner. Talks are ongoing, and if it moves forward, Alec Berg (Curb Your Enthusiasm) will pen the script, marking a reunion between the trio following their stint on 2003’s ill-fated The Cat in the Hat adaptation starring Mike Myers.
It’s unclear what a How the Grinch Stole Christmas follow-up entails, since the green grump managed to redeem himself at the end of the 2000 movie, but it may tap into Alastair Heim’s Dr Seuss’s How the Grinch Lost Christmas! book sequel, which brings the following premise:
“A year has passed since the Grinch stole Christmas from Who-ville. Now eager to prove to the Whos that his heart has grown to LOVE the holiday, the Grinch devises a plan to win Who-ville’s Christmas Crown by making the largest, most spectacular Christmas tree the Whos have ever seen! But when things don’t go as planned, the Grinch’s heart turns ice cold, and he threatens to leave Who-ville for good…until one small, special Who reminds him that Christmas is NOT about winning.”
No news on potential returning characters and their respective actors, either, so the only thing left to do for now is to wait. What’s certain is that the holiday pic was a box-office hit with a worldwide haul of US$351 million, despite mixed reviews, and became the highest-grossing film of 2000 domestically. Dating back to the 1957 novel by Dr Seuss, it follows a misanthropic green creature living on Mount Crumpit, who despises Christmas and the joyful residents of Whoville and sets out to sabotage their holiday celebration.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
