Almost from the minute The Hangover because a surprise mega-hit, director Todd Phillips has been talking about a sequel, saying that even when they were making the first movie, they were talking about where it could go next. In fact Warner Bros. commissioned a script for a follow-up before the first film was released, because while they hadn't been expecting much when it went into production, when they saw the film they realised it was likely to be a success.
However, despite Phillips' continued promises that everyone would return for another Hangover adventure, that wasn't necessarily the case.
As Warner Bros wasn't expecting The Hangover to be a big hit when it first started filming, the deals they made with the actors didn't lock them in for sequels, which meant the cast could play hardball in negotiations to return, and easily walk away if the studio wasn't prepared to stump up the cash.
Thankfully though, Deadline is now reporting that Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper and Ed Helms are now all officially signed onto the sequel, with each getting paid in the vicinity of $5 million against 4% of first dollar gross. That compares to less than a million for all three combined on the first film (although Warner did give each a $1 million bonus before negotiations for the sequel began). Apparently negotiations dragged on a lot longer than the studio had hoped, with the actors playing hardball.
However while Cooper and co. have done pretty well in the dealmaking process, it's once again the director who will make out like a bandit. With the first film, because the studio was uncertain about his casting choices (they wanted bigger stars), Phillips agreed to lower his fee but taking a bigger chunk of the money the movie made at the box office. That turned out to be a great decision, as it's netted him $50 million so far. For the sequel, he's being paid $10 million upfront, against 10% of the gross, with escalators and bonuses worked into that insure if the sequel does anywhere close to the original’s $467 million worldwide gross, Phillips will not make less than his income on the original. Now that's the sort of deal you want.
All this does mean though that the film is now an increasingly expensive proposition for Warner, who are going to have to pray that lightning really does strike twice to make it worth paying that much upfront and giving away so much of the back end. The Hangover cost $34 million to make in total, but just to get the director and main cast back for the sequel, Warner has already paid $25 million, and that's before a single frame of film has been shot.