Hope you’ve been staying classy planet earth, because Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 news team have finally picked a date to return for Anchorman: The Legend Continues, and you better be ready.
Until now, the only time-frame given for Adam McKay‘s comedic newscasting sequel was “sometime in 2013,” but Paramount Pictures seem to be keeping to their word by announcing Will Ferrell and his rag tag gang of on-air personalities are set to premiere on December 20th, 2013.
Since the first trailer popped up online, we’ve known Ron’s compadres were all returning to reprise their roles. David Koechner is back as sports guru Champ Kind, Steve Carell returns as the lovably simple Brick Tamland, and Paul Rudd returns as ladies man Brian Fantana – accompanied of course by James Westfall and Dr. Kenneth Noisewater. Christina Applegate returns as leading lady Veronica Corningstone, but joining the cast is another funny gal and rising Hollywood comedy star – Kristen Wiig. As for competition, you can probably expect to see Vince Vaughn stop in as Wes Mantooth, with his new-found respect for Burgundy after the zoo incident.
Anchorman: The Legend Continues will follow Burgundy and the boys as they deal with two more radical changes in the reporting world. First, our fun loving jokesters will cope with the introduction of 24 hour news coverage, I’m sure driving some of them into a stress filled insanity, only made worse by their second point of change – news anchors of different races.
Something tells me Burgundy and his team won’t be so accepting when their clan is forced to go multicultural, since they spent an entire movie trying to sabotage a woman’s right to read the news. I can only imagine that we’ll get a steady helping of school-yard bullying and crude pranks, much like the first film, but instead of Veronica being sexually harassed and called Tits Magee, it’ll focus on racial humor and inequality. Maybe there’s room for a comedian like Aziz Ansari to be belittled by Ferrell and his narrow minded friends?
I have full faith that Adam McKay won’t script a copycat type film just with different jokes substituted in, as he’s now got a deeper character to explore in Ron based on the last film, and not to mention more recognizable sidekicks who could possibly branch out with their own supporting stories. As for the short turnaround time McKay has to develop a movie from point A to B, as shooting hasn’t even started yet, I can only hope Paramount has given our creative genius enough time to properly continue the Anchorman franchise, avoiding a rushed sequel just to bring Ron Burgundy back.
I know I’m ecstatic to have Ferrell returning to a role that really defined his career for a time, and having actors like Paul Rudd and Steve Carell back after striking big on their own brings more clout to their smaller characters which I hope warrants more individual screen time as I suggested before. If you’re not an Anchorman fan though, well, you know, as the saying goes, “When in Rome!”
Alright fans, now that you know Anchorman: The Legend Continues will in fact be opening December 20th, 2013, does the sequel seem any more real? Are you as excited for a return to stylish digs and colognes worthy of a choking hazard? Will the production be too rushed, ultimately dooming Burgundy and company? Is there even a need to assemble the old news team? Hit the comments and let us know!
Source: [The Film Stage]