IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Is Getting a Sequel
Frank Capra's classic Christmas movie It's A Wonderful Life, which starred Jimmy Stewart, is getting a sequel after all these years. I really enjoyed this film. I watch it every year, and I never thought I would see a sequel to it, but it's actually happening.
The sequel will be called It’s A Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story, and producers are trying to get the movie into theaters for the 2015 holiday season. It seems like a weird title, but here are some details on the film from Variety,
Karolyn Grimes, who played George Bailey’s daughter “Zuzu” in the original, will return for the “Wonderful Life” sequel as an angel who shows Bailey’s unlikeable grandson (also named George Bailey) how much better off the world would have been had he never been born.
Grimes, of course, bellowed the iconic line, “Every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings!” in the original movie, about a troubled family man (Stewart) whose near-suicide on Christmas Eve brings on the intervention of his guardian angel.
Producer Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton wrote the screenplay, and Farnsworth had this to say in a statement,
“The storyline of the new film retains the spirit of the original – every life is important as long as you have friends.”
Grimes talked about the film, saying,
“The new film will retain the feeling of the original, and it simply must be shared. I’ve probably read close to 20 scripts over the years suggesting a sequel to ‘It’s a Wonderful Life,’ but none of them were any good. The script by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton was wonderful, and I wanted to be involved with his version of the film immediately.”
As of right now there have been no decisions made on casting or a director, but producers are looking for them. Discussions have already begun with original cast members Jimmy Hawkins, who portrayed Tommy Bailey, and Carol Coombs, who played Janie Bailey, to reprise their roles.
The sequel will shoot in Louisiana with a budget of between $25 and $35 million. It will be interesting to see how this turns out.