In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, Universal Pictures has announced that Ride Along 2 will be heading into production shortly, with director Tim Story and stars Ice Cube and Kevin Hart set to return. The studio revealed their intention to make a sequel to the buddy cop comedy well before its theatrical release but now, due to the stellar box office figures, it looks like things are official.
You can probably blame it on the fact that January was a pretty dull month for cinema, but Ride Along pulled in $41.5 million on its opening weekend and grossed about $120 million worldwide. On a budget of just $25 million, that’s pretty damn impressive and makes it a no brainer for Universal to green light a sequel.
In addition to Story, Cube and Hart returning, the original film’s writers, Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, will be back as well to pen the script. So basically, if you enjoyed the first Ride Along then it’s highly likely that you’ll enjoy the sequel, as it’s the exact same team behind it.
Personally, however, I didn’t find much to love about Ride Along. It was a wholly mediocre cop comedy that, in all likelihood, would have been completely forgotten had it opened during any other month. Fortunately for Universal, it dropped in January, and with its only comedy competition being paltry animated flick The Nut Job, people flocked to Ride Along in droves. I suppose a sequel is harmless, and it will likely do good business, but I can’t say that I’ll be first in line to see it.
Said to hold more action and be more multi-cultural by Universal, Ride Along 2 will start shooting this summer. We’ll keep you posted when we hear more.
Tell us, are you eager to see Kevin Hart and Ice Cube team up for some more shenanigans, or were you not impressed by their first effort? Let us know in the comments section below.