The summer movie season is always chocked full of sequels andremakes, and this year is no different. Next month, Universal will bring back Mac (Seth Rogen) and Kelly Radner (Rose Byrne) inNeighbors 2: Sorority Rising, where this married couple squares off against a sorority that movies in next door, right when they’re trying to sell their house.Yahoo! Moviesrecently caught up with co-writer and directorNick Stoller, who teased that he found some surprising inspiration in an unexpected source: the Pixar sequelToy Story 2.
“I looked at theToy Storymovies as inspiration. If the firstNeighborsis a dumb, gross, R-ratedToy Story, this is like a dumb, gross, R-ratedToy Story 2. Each of theToy Storys are telling an emotional story, but they’re comedic. They’re so successful creatively in terms of the stories they’re telling. And they’re pretty grounded”
Naturally, theR-ratedcomedyNeighbors 2: Sorority RisingandToy Story 2are telling much different stories, but the director also spoke about how difficult it is to make acomedy sequel. He added that the story has to “evolve” from its original premise, citingMeet the Fockersas a great example, where the audience meets a completely new set of parents. In the case ofNeighbors 2: Sorority Rising, the rowdyfraternityfrom the originalNeighborsis replaced by an equally raucoussorority. Here’s what he had to say about how comedy sequels need to tell a story that is same but different at once.
“And the other thing that’s really hard with comedy sequels is people want some of the same stuff, but they don’t want the same movie again. It would be like inToy Story 2, if Buzz and Woody were fighting again. It’s like, ‘No, they already fought, they figured their stuff out. They don’t need to fight anymore.’ So it’s figuring out the evolution of everyone’s relationships.”
Along withSeth RogenandRose Byrnereturning as Mac and Kelly, this sequel also brings backZac Efronas Teddy, who helps his former neighbors take down this sorority. Teddy is said to be having a quarter-life crisis as he watches his friends adjust to the real world, while Mac and Kelly are expecting their second child, and worrying that they’re not good enough as parents. We’ll have to wait and see if audiences flock to this follow-up like they did with the originalNeighbors, which earned $270.6 million worldwide from a $28 million budget. What do you think aboutNeighbors 2: Sorority Risingdrawing inspiration fromToy Story 2?
