Fans of “Sweet Home Alabama,” here’s some exciting news: Josh Lucas, who starred alongside Reese Witherspoon in the 2002 romantic comedy, recently said he’d be open to a sequel to the film. And he’s not the only one.
“I’m up for it,” Lucas told “Entertainment Tonight” at the July 31 Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s annual grants banquet. “I know Reese’s said she is, as well. The director is absolutely up for it. I spoke to him about it a couple of times recently. So, look, I throw it out to you, Reese.”
Lucas said that the movie’s director, Andy Tennant (pictured below), has a script and film development completed, but nothing that gives a sequel a firm greenlight.
Witherspoon, he noted, would have to be the one to get the project going.
“Sweet Home Alabama” won audiences over with its Southern charm and childhood sweethearts plot. Both leads had Southern roots to back their roles up.
Witherspoon, who played clothing designer Melanie Smooter, was born in New Orleans and grew up in Nashville. Lucas, who played her estranged husband, Jake, was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and lived in various places in the South until he was 13.
In the film, Melanie gets engaged to New York’s most eligible bachelor (played by Patrick Dempsey). But first she has to head back to Alabama, a place she’s left far behind her, to get Jake to sign divorce papers. While she is back home, she finds her Southern ties tugging at her big city sleeves.
If you need more of a refresher, check out the trailer for the movie below:
Also headlining the cast was Candice Bergen, who played Dempsey’s mother, the mayor of New York City. And, fun fact: Dakota Fanning played a young Melanie.
Witherspoon herself has spoken positively about wanting to do a “Sweet Home Alabama” sequel. In a 2016 Facebook Live chat, she told those watching, “I love ‘Sweet Home Alabama’!”
She added, “We are not making a sequel that I know of, but if Disney wants to call me, I would happily make a ‘Sweet Home Alabama 2’!”
What does Lucas think a sequel will look like? “I think the thing about the story, it’s one of those [where] they’re eternally in love,” he told “Entertainment Tonight.” “So, even if they’re going through a rough time, whatever it is, they’re eternally in love. That’s kind of the beauty in that magical film.”
In July 2018, Lucas elaborated on a possible idea for the sequel, telling “Access Hollywood” that he thinks a follow-up film could see the movie couple reuniting after an estrangement. “I kind of love the idea that they’re divorced and have been divorced for a while, and he wants her back,” he said of the potential plot.
You can check out his full interview below:
What do you think? Would you watch a “Sweet Home Alabama” sequel?
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