A rumour emerged that A Simple Favor 2 had been cancelled due to ‘tensions’ between lead stars Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick – but director Paul Feig has provided a defiant update
Hollywood director Paul Feig has furiously denied that a sequel film starring Blake Lively has been cancelled after she fell out with him and her co-stars.
A spurious rumour was ignited on Friday night when a social media commentator on X claimed that the sequel to the 2018 film A Simple Favor had been shelved. The original film was directed by 62-year-old icon Paul and saw Blake take on multiple roles to portray Emily Nelson, aka Hope McLanden, and also aka Faith McLanden.
The comedy-thriller co-starred Anna Kendrick as Stephanie Smothers who investigates the disappearance of her glamorous friend. In recent months, Blake has been at the centre of countless negative headlines following the explosive fall-out from her It Ends With Us co-star and director Justin Baldoni.
But when an X user claimed that A Simple Favour 2 had been cancelled as collateral damage for Blake and Justin’s fall out, Paul stepped forth to argue it was simply not the case. The eyebrow-raising original X post stated: “BREAKING: Amazon shelves A Simple Favor 2 indefinitely. Despite glowing test screenings, Blake Lively’s refusal to promote—amid her messy legal battle with Justin Baldoni—and growing tensions with Anna Kendrick have derailed the sequel.”
He went on to claim: “Anna is furious. Paul Feig is disappointed. Hollywood is in shock. This isn’t just a movie—it’s an implosion.” But Paul himself railed against the claims – and blasted them as false. Responding to the post on X, he wrote: “This is total BS. Sorry. The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days.”
The original poster then demanded more information, writing: “Hi Paul, if my story is ‘false,’ could you clarify why Amazon hasn’t set a release date for a film that wrapped in April 2024? Why are there no promo plans yet? Saying ‘coming out soon’ doesn’t really address the delays or the concerns. Would love to hear more!”
But insisting the film will be released, Paul wrote: “My friend, it’s called post production, which generally takes over half a year at least when you factor in editing, scoring, special effects, sound mixing, close captioning and all the technical quality control that has to be done. Our post schedule always had us finishing everything by mid-January. Movies don’t come out the second they’re finished because the studio spends the previous year deciding the best date to release it. We’ve always planned on something in the spring/summer of this year. That’s how movies work. I hope this helps.”
Another fan reacted to Paul’s posts, to write: “Thank you for confirming that this thread is bs!” And the director replied to them too, writing: “The movie is awesome, and Blake and Anna turn in amazing performances. I can’t wait for you all to see it. Stay tuned for more details. Simple Favor 2 is coming soon!”
The first A Simple Favour film was a critical hit – receiving positive reviews with both Blake and Anna praised for their performances. And it also performed well at the Box Office – making more than four times it’s budget in ticket sales.
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