Deadline reports that the sequel will film in Boston in January!
Back in 1988, Arnold Schwarzenegger earned his comedic chops thanks to Ivan Reitman’s film ‘Twins’. Starring alongside Danny DeVito, the film saw the muscle-bound actor portray one of a pair of genetically engineered boys. The other was of course played by DeVito as his twin brother. The film was actually an enjoyable comedy that, although it did rely on the premise of how the two were the complete opposite of each other, was all about family. And it worked really well. Also starring the late Kelly Preston and Chloe Webb, the film was a box office smash. We all expected a sequel to be forthcoming. Thirty-one years later, we are getting one.
TRIPLETS.
Deadline is reporting that the sequel, ‘Triplets’ will be going before the cameras in January. The film is to be filmed in Boston. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito are returning to their roles of Julius and Vincent Benedict respectively. And this time, they will be joined by Tracy Morgan as their long-lost sibling. You can guess where the comedy will be coming from this time by that cast alone. One is a muscular giant. One is a short, balding ex-criminal. And the newly discovered brother is African-American. Dylan Dawson and Lucas Kavner are at the moment completing the script while a sizzle reel is in the works to show potential buyers for the film.
Twins (1988)
IVAN REITMAN
But the best news of all is that director Ivan Reitman, who helmed the first film and has been off of the Hollywood radar for a while is returning to direct the sequel. However, Arnold Schwarzenegger insisted upon Reitman returning to direct the sequel, with Reitman revealing:
“Twins was quite successful, and some years after, this whole thing started with Arnold meeting Eddie Murphy, and the suggestion came from one of them. It was, ‘I should be a triplet, that could be a very funny comedy.’ We started a script with Eddie, and after the success, he had with Amazon Prime on Coming 2 America, he got himself booked up heavily. And we knew we were going to make it at the beginning of next year. I’d been good friends with Tracy Morgan for a long time and always thought he was one of the funniest men in the world. I thought he would make a terrific triplet, and we rewrote the whole script for him. Now, we’ll go out and try and put the money together and get it made.”
“I haven’t directed in a couple of years, but Arnold kept saying, ‘c’mon, we had such a great time.’ I just called him in Budapest and he’s so excited to see how people respond to the reel as we send it out. The initial reaction has been very strong, and how young Arnold and Danny look and how great the chemistry is with Tracy. I had a great time doing the first one, and this is going to be fun.”
THE RIGHTS
Universal Pictures was behind the original film, which grossed $216million around the globe. However, Ivan Reitman had to call for a rights reversion if the sequel was to be made, saying:
“We had this fabulous deal we made with Tom Pollock, who wound up being my partner at Montecito Pictures. It was his first picture as the chairman of Universal. He loved the script and really believed in it. We decided we would do this where there was very little money upfront. We made the movie for $15 million. But it came with a lot of gross and so we ended up doing very well. In terms of future rights, Universal had very restrictive secondary rights in terms of sequels. They had to act on it very quickly, which they didn’t because we hadn’t really developed it.”
Twins (1988)
THE PREMISE
Ivan Reitman was extremely excited to share with the world the premise for the new sequel, giving us a sneak peek regarding the plot for the film:
“Secretly, there was a third baby born, a Black baby, who hasn’t been in touch with his siblings. They don’t know each other and very early in the movie they meet and it’s how they achieve a bond together after all these years. It’s really a film about family and, no matter how different we all are, we have to learn to get along. These guys have great chemistry together, and you can see that in the reel, and how much energy they bring out in each other.”
THOUGHTS
I’m eager to see the sequel and to see how they get around certain aspects of cast members who will sadly be missing from the film. Kelly Preston played a significant part in the original and her absence will need to be addressed somehow. Tony Jay who played Professor Werner in the first film has also passed on. Will Bonnie Bartlett, Chloe Webb, or Nehemiah Persoff be interested in returning for the sequel? Bonnie Bartlett is now 92 whereas Persoff is 102. And considering at the end of the first film, both Julius and Vincent were fathers of twin children, could their now-adult offspring have a part to play? We will have to wait and see how it all plays out. But with Tracy Morgan in tow, I’m sure the film will be a winner.
‘Triplets’ starts filming next year and will be released sometime in the future. Just make sure you don’t move too soon! Or forget the first rule in a crisis situation!
Are you interested in seeing a belated sequel? Do you think they’ve left it too long for a follow-up? What do you think of the addition of Tracy Morgan? We’d love to hear from you!
Carl Roberts is the News Editor of The Future of the Force. Aside from being our horror genre aficionado, he is also passionate about Star Wars, Marvel, DC, and the Indiana Jones movies. Follow him on Twitter where he uses the force frequently!
