The Facebook movie poster industrial complex is at it again — and just in time for Christmas! If you’ve been on the famously chaotic social media site this holiday season, you may have seen some posters promoting a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
According to reliable sources — including Carrey himself — here’s what we know about plans for a potential sequel so far.
Is a sequel to The Grinch in the works?
So far, there are no official plans for a sequel movie to How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Neither Ron Howard nor Universal Pictures have made any statement regarding an upcoming second Grinch film. The Dr. Seuss children’s novel of the same name, first published in 1957, has no direct sequel story, so there is no source material to work from. Any attempt at using the Grinch character in new material would most likely require permission from Dr. Seuss’ estate.
Given the fact that Seuss died in 1991, as well as the fact that his estate is notoriously picky about the author’s public image and legacy, often plucking books out of publication if they do not meet the tastes of modern readers, a legacy sequel of any sort seems unlikely.
Several subsequent Seuss films — notably The Lorax (2012), the 2018 CGI animation adaptation of The Grinch, and who could forget 2003’s The Cat in the Hat? — have been met with negative critical reviews and lukewarm audience reactions. With this in mind, movie studios are probably not in a rush to attempt to adapt any more Seuss works any time soon.
Could there ever be a Grinch sequel?
Jim Carrey describes himself as “not a crazy sequel guy,” and has almost always avoided joining follow-ups to his most popular films. Any live-action Grinch movie that is produced in the future most likely will not include Carrey, replacing him as the lead, as this was the case in sequels to movies like The Mask, Bruce Almighty, and several others.
Speaking to People, a representative for Carrey said that there “is no truth to Jim reprising his role as the Grinch in a sequel to The Grinch,” although Universal Pictures did not respond to a request for comment – perhaps suggesting a reboot rather than a sequel, or at least a re-casting.
In an interview on The Graham Norton Show, Carrey revealed that had to undergo CIA torture training to cope with the eight hours a day in the makeup chair – completed over 100 times – required to apply the prosthetics for the role. We’re guessing he isn’t up for doing that again any time soon.