Jim Carrey and Ron Howard may be heading back to Whoville.
Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a sequel to 2000’s “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” a family smash that dominated the box office earning more than $350 million, a huge sum at the time. In addition to Carrey, who starred as the Grinch, Howard is expected to return as director. Brian Grazer, the co-founder of Imagine with Howard, is expected to come back as a producer on the film.
Talks are ongoing and things could fall apart. However if it moves forward, the sequel will have a script by Alec Berg, who is best known for his work on “Barry” and “Silicon Valley,” as well as Jeff Schaffer (“Life, Larry and The Pursuit of Unhappiness”) and David Mandel (“Veep”). All three men are vets of “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and also worked on the another Dr. Seuss adaptation, the ill-fated “The Cat in the Hat,” which starred Mike Myers and was up for several Razzie Awards, winning the coveted “Worst Excuse for an Actual Movie (All Concept/No Content).”
Carrey was one of the biggest stars of the 1990s and early aughts but has been less active in recent years. He is currently set to reprise his role as Dr. Robotnik in 2027’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 4.” Carrey has said he’d be open to returning as the Grinch before, though he noted that the intensive makeup process on the first film was off-putting and he wanted to use motion capture.
“Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch,” Carrey told ComicBook.com in 2024. “The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process. The children were in my mind all the time. ‘It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids. It’s for the kids.’ And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world.”
“How The Grinch Stole Christmas” was later adapted into a 2018 animated movie called “The Grinch,” which was released by Universal and Illumination Entertainment and was another monster hit.
CEO Susan Brandt will oversee the project for Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Senior Vice President of Production Development and Special Projects Britt Hennemuth and Creative Executive Christina Hoffrogge will oversee the project for Universal.
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Howard is represented by CAA and Greenberg Glusker. Carrey is represented by WME and attorney Deborah Klein. Berg is represented by UTA and HJTH. Schaffer is represented by UTA and HJTH.
Mandel is represented by WME and HJTH. Imagine Entertainment is represented by CAA.
Dr. Seuss Enterprises is represented by CAA.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the “Grinch” sequel news.
From Variety US