A PINEAPPLE EXPRESS Sequel Was Planned But Passed on Over Budget Concerns
Seth Rogan recently appeared on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show, and while they were talking, the actor revealed that a Pineapple Express sequel was planned after the first movie was released. Unfortunately, the sequel never happened because of the budget that producer Judd Apatow wanted for the sequel. Rogen explained:
“We tried to make one and thanks to the Sony hack you can actually find the email when Sony decided to kill the movie and not make it. It was something we were very open to several years ago, but Sony was not that interested in it.”
I’m sure you all remember the 2014 Sony Pictures hack that revealed all kinds of confidential documents and emails about upcoming and previously unannounced movies. The Daily Beast shared some leaked emails they found between Apatow and former Sony Pictures co-chairman Amy Pascal having a discussion regarding Pineapple Express 2. Apatow said in the email:
“I am so glad we are so close to getting Pineapple Express 2 figured out. I am very excited to make this thing real. We are very inspired creatively on this one. We have hilarious ideas. It is gonna be awesome. We learned so much on how to make these comedy sequels when we did ‘Anchorman 2.’ And we rocked that marketing campaign. Foreign is doing awesome too. I am sure ‘PE2’ will do even better! Marijuana is so popular now! It’s on every corner!” Apatow wrote in an email.”
It was reported that Apatow wanted a $50 million budget for the sequel, but Sony demanded that the budget be kept at $45 million. After that, the conversations regarding making the film died and it never got made. I guess Apatow and the studio had no intention of budging on their numbers. It’s interesting that the $5 million difference was the deal-breaker. Apatow did explain why he wanted the $50 million, though, saying:
“I am trying to get Pineapple Express Two going. It has been very slow with Sony business affairs. I fear it is about to slip away. My intention is to make it with the same approach as Anchorman 2. Pineapple Express made more money than Anchorman one did. We shot our Anchorman sequel for 50 million and all made a lot of money. It is the right number for an action comedy which we want to have enough good action to work internationally. And I need to pay the actors sequel level fees. That is what we want to do with Pineapple Express. A 50 million dollar budget. 45 doesn't get it done. We have been offered a writing deal by Sony and that is all. We need a real commitment to make the film in order to get this going. Not just a writing deal. That is how we did the Talladega Nights and Stepbrothers deals. And the Anchorman 2 deal.
But, nothing ever happened. Sony didn’t want to budge. Rogen went on to confirm that the money was the issue with getting the sequel off the ground and said:
“I think we probably wanted too much money. Studios, they don’t like giving away money. Weird thing.”
Pineapple Express was a big hit for the studio, and it made a little more than $100 million worldwide against a budget of $27 million. It’s a shame that the sequel never happened. I enjoyed the first movie, and I bet a sequel would have been a blast!
Source: Variety