Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow’s “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” sequel is finally happening at 20th Century Studios – but this time, it’s headed to Hulu.
TheWrap has confirmed that a sequel to the 1997 R-rated comedy is in the works from director Tim Federle. But instead of heading to the big screen, like similar legal sequel “Devil Wears Prada 2” did in early May (it has made a very fashionable $664 million so far), the “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion” follow-up will debut exclusively on Hulu (or Hulu on Disney+ for those bundle subscribers).
The sequel sees original writer Robin Schiff returning for the sequel, with Janeane Garofalo, Alan Cumming, Camryn Manheim and Julia Campbell returning from the original film, which was directed by David Mirkin. New cast members include Keegan-Michael Key, Rob Huebel, Breckin Meyer, Patrick Warburton and Nathan Lee Graham.
Producers on the sequel, whose logline is being kept in a grungy high school locker, include Federle and Laurence Mark (returning from the original), with executive producers including Barry Kemp, Sorvino, Kudrow and Schiff. Kimberly McCullough is a co-producer.
The below-the-line team includes director of photography Marco Fargnoli, production designer Hillary Gurtler, editor Brian Olds and costume designer Mona May, another veteran from the original “Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.” Senior VP Sarah Shepard is overseeing the project for 20th Century Studios.
The original film, released by Disney’s Touchstone Pictures imprint of Buena Vista Pictures Distribution, had a circuitous path to the big screen. The characters first appeared in 1988 stage play “Ladies Room,” written by Schiff for the comedy troupe The Groundlings, with Kudro as Michele. The play was then adapted into a sitcom, with Kudrow and Christie Mellor, who played Romy on stage, reprising their roles. While the pilot was ultimately not picked up, Touchstone executives, looking for a “female ‘Wayne’s World’” (according to Schiff in a Vanity Fair interview), convinced her to turn it into a feature, with Schiff sparking on the idea of the characters returning to their high school for a 10th anniversary.
While not a hit upon its original theatrical release, where it earned $29.2 million on a production budget of $20 million, it has grown in the years since as a cult favorite. In 2005 Schiff wrote and directed a prequel film called “Romy and Michele: In the Beginning” for ABC Family, with Katherine Heigl as Romy and Alexandra Breckenridge as Michele. In 2017 a musical adaptation premiered in Seattle, with an off-Broadway production hitting last fall.
