Though he’s already signed on to makeThe Heat 2with his screenwriting partnerKatie Dippold,Paul Feighasn’t made sequelizing a habit. However, one property he says he’d to expand isSpy. During an interview withEmpire magazine, the filmmaker said he already has an idea drummed up forSpy 2that will happen withMelissa McCarthyand — drumroll, please —Jason Statham’s Rick Ford.
Word of a sequel was revealed last year byThe Guardian, who reported Feig was already working on another chapter before cameras even began rolling onGhostbusters. But Feig told Empire:
That’s another world that I don’t want to walk away from. It’s the first thing I did that I set up to be a possible franchise and Melissa is dying to do it. I have a story for it, and a funny idea that will kick it off that involves Statham.
He added in the interview:
Susan Cooper is one of my favorite characters I’ve ever come up with, but Rick Ford is possibly the one I’ll take to the grave with me. Will he get any more self-aware in the sequel? No, god no. He’ll get less self-aware.
Statham was the comedic surprise ofSpy, which saw him as the egomaniacal secret agent who embedded himself in Susan’s mission under his own authority. When we last saw him, he was headed “out to sea” on a lake — but then, as Susan horrifically realized, he popped up again in bed next to her. Though the story made sense as a standalone, there’s plenty of opportunities to continue Susan’s undercover adventures.
At the very least, it also means that Feig’s relationship with McCarthy is far from over. They’ve been consistently working together sinceBridesmaids, and she’ll be seen next inGhostbustersandThe Heat 2. Perhaps she’ll even pop up in Feig’sWish List, which currently only has announcedReese Witherspoonin a role.
