Over two years ago, multi-hyphenate genius Josh Gad signed on to script the sequel to the 1988 comedy Twins. Bearing the obvious follow-up title, Triplets, the project entered development at a slow, steady pace until it sort of ground to a halt.
The few scant details available in terms of story indicate that the movie will once more follow the mismatched twins played by Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. Except, this time around their hijinks will involve their third brother, played by Eddie Murphy. It’s a concept that remains in line with the original, except this reinvented portion of the franchise has been penned by Gad and his writing partner Ryan Dixon. Now, we’ve an update on the movie’s status that suggests Universal aren’t gung-ho about moving forward.
During the press rounds for The Wedding Ringer, Gad took part in a Reddit AMA (via /Film) and was asked about the status of Triplets. He offered an extensive trio of answers to the questions posed. In order, he revealed details about the status of the film, the changes for the characters and whether or not he’d be appearing in it:
1) Uh, you know… the script is actually done. Everybody agrees that it’s great. We wound up doing 2 drafts. Universal, I think, hit the pause button temporarily for whatever reason – internally I think they are trying to figure out if they want to do a sequel or not. I would say if there’s an outpouring of affection, that may move the needle, but I think it’s on hold right now. But everybody read the script and loved it, so I hope it sees the light of day at some point. It’s there and in great shape.
2) Well, the lives have changed in that the two of them find themselves at a major crossroads where they’ve sort of grown apart over the years and what winds up bringing them together is a 3rd brother they never knew they had who could potentially be played by Eddie Murphy…
3) The answer to that is: most likely not, just because I wrote the film as a fan of the original movie TWINS. It was never written for me to be in it. Having said that, there is currently a role in the movie where Arnold has a son that looks like Danny, and Danny has a son that looks like Arnold. That could be fun, but as of right now, I have no intention of being a part of it.
Will this latest clutch of information stir up enough fan demand that Universal may say yes? It’s possible, and especially with Gad at the keys. The significant gap between the movies hasn’t stopped other franchises from issuing sequels decades later, so why should it be any different for Triplets?