Director Paul Feig shut down rumors of a feud on set causing the movie to be scrapped, saying, “Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days”
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Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick have outdone themselves in the upcoming A Simple Favor sequel, director Paul Feig teases.
Feig gave an update on the followup to their 2018 thriller while shutting down rumors of a feud between the two stars allegedly causing the film to be shelved. The original report has since been labeled a “false story” on X.
“This is total BS. Sorry. The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don’t believe anything you read on social media these days,” Feig, 62, wrote on the social media platform Friday, Jan. 10.
In a subsequent post, the filmmaker added, “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!”
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On Jan. 11, Feig responded to another X user who asked why a release date hasn’t been set if the film wrapped production months ago. He explained, “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,” continued Feig, who is currently working on an adaptation of The Housemaid. “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.”
Amazon MGM Studios and Lionsgate announced in March 2024 that A Simple Favor 2 was happening, with Lively and Kendrick returning, along with Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Joshua Satine, Ian Ho, and Kelly McCormack. The stars were photographed filming in Italy in April 2024.
A logline at the time said the story will follow Stephanie Smothers (Kendrick) and Emily Nelson (Lively) to the island of Capri, Italy, for Emily’s “extravagant wedding to a rich Italian businessman.”
“Along with the glamorous guests, expect murder and betrayal to RSVP for a wedding with more twists and turns than the road from the Marina Grande to the Capri town square,” the synopsis added.
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After Lively, 37, took legal action against her It Ends With Us director and costar Justin Baldoni in December, Feig spoke out in support of the actress.
“I’ve now made two movies with Blake and all I can say is she’s one of the most professional, creative, collaborative, talented and kind people I’ve ever worked with,” he wrote on X Dec. 22.
In October 2024, Kendrick, 39, who made her directorial debut with Woman of the Hour, told PEOPLE it was “lovely” reuniting with Lively for the sequel.
“She lives on the East Coast, I live on the West Coast, so we don’t get to see each other often. But it was lovely, and I think that those characters have such weird chemistry that it’s so fun to just get the gang back together,” said Kendrick. “And it does feel a little bit like riding a bike.”
