A couple of days ago we reported that it looked like Anchorman 2 might finally get made. The director, Adam McKay, was talking up the sequel, saying they were hoping Paramount would greenlight the project and it could start filming next February. The only issue was the budget, but they thought they could sort that out.
Look like he spoke a bit too soon, as Paramount has now pretty much decided they don’t want to make it after all. McKay broke the news on Twitter, saying,’So bummed. Paramount basically passed on Anchorman 2. Even after we cut our budget down. We tried.’
And they really did try, as despite everyone from Will Ferrell and Steve Carell to Paul Rudd being a much bigger name than they were when they made the first film (not to mention Seth Rogen, who had a small role in the original), everyone had agreed to take a pay cut just to try and get the sequel made. However, despite the success of the first movie, which didn’t just do well in cinemas but became a leviathan on DVD, Paramount just don’t want to stump up the cash.
Although there’s still a chance Paramount could change its mind, or a deal could be struck with another studio (after all, Universal distributed the first one, although the fanchise went to Paramount after they bought Dreamworks). However at the moment, it seems the project is pretty much dead.