In 2002, the indie hit of the year, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, blew up at the box office. Considered one of the biggest independent successes of all time, it pulled in a gargantuan $368 million worldwide off a tiny $5 million budget. To capitalize on its established fanbase, a spinoff TV series, My Big Fat Greek Life, was rolled out, but flailed in its small screen incantation. Now, some twelve years later the comedy about an inevitably hilarious culture clash is finally getting a big screen sequel in My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2.
Initial reports earlier this year hinted that a follow-up was on the cards, and The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed that development has begun. Universal has nabbed the distribution rights to the pic, and Nanny McPhee director Kirk Jones is signed on to helm the comedy. Thus far, the English filmmaker’s resume consists of romcoms, including Waking Ned, What To Expect When You’re Expecting and Everybody’s Fine. None of which lit up the box office, but demonstrate his ability to prise a bunch of laughs from the material.
With production headed up by Playtone, they’ve already set the wheels in motion as the two main leads will be back to reprise their roles. First up is leading lady, Nia Vardalos, who penned the original based on her own one-woman play, and has commenced scribbling the second outing. Love interest John Corbett is expected to make an appearance as her non-Greek husband. At this stage, the story details are sketchy, but the plot will apparently focus “on a family secret and an even bigger, fatter wedding that brings the Portokalos family together again.”
Whether or not the sequel will be as big a smash as its predecessor is in the lap of the gods. The factors required for such a staggering box office repeat are a corking script, a unique angle and a choice cast. We’ll see how development continues on My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, but for now, let us know if you’ll be in line for a ticket in the comments below.
