It’s taken about five years, but this week it appears that a sequel to the Kevin James comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop is finally in the works over at Sony Pictures. Back in 2009, moviegoers were treated to a showdown between dueling mall cop movies as Paul Blartfaced off against Jody Hill’s Observe and Reportstarring Seth Rogen. The latter was a dark comedy that divided audiences and critics, earning just $26 million worldwide, but Blart was a surprise hit that went on to make over $180 million. In fact, it was the 19th highest grossing movie of the year in the U.S., which is why it seems crazy that it has taken this long for a sequel to get off the ground. Perhaps the success of Grown Ups 2 has convinced Sony execs that comedy sequels can be quite lucrative after all.
According to THR, Andy Fickman is in talks to direct a proposed sequel to Paul Blart: Mall Cop. Fickman is best known for directing the Dwayne Johnson flicks The Game Plan and Race to Witch Mountain for Disney, although his most recent movie was Parental Guidance starring Billy Crystal and Bette Midler. It sounds like he will be a perfect fit for this kind of tame, inoffensive comedy.
Although original director Steve Carr (Daddy Day Care, Dr. Doolittle 2) won’t be returning, both Kevin James and his co-writer Nick Bakay (Zookeeper) will be back to pen the script. Adam Sandler will produce through his Happy Madison banner with an April start date being planned. So what do you think… are you psyched for a Paul Blart sequel or what?
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