It's A Wonderful Life sequel is in the works

In a surprising bit of news, the 1946 James Stewart classic It's a Wonderful Life officially has a sequel in the works. Tentatively titled It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story, the sequel will follow George Bailey's daughter (played by Karolyn Grimes) Zuzu as she returns to Earth as an angel to help George Bailey's grandson (also named George Bailey) see how the world would be better if he had never been born. The sequel's screenplay will be written by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton of Hummingbird Productions. It's a Wonderful Life 2 will be produced by Star Partners and Hummingbird Productions.

The process has already begun with the search for a director and talent for the sequel to fast track it for a 2015 holiday release. The producers hope to begin shooting in Louisiana by next year on a modest $25-$35 million budget. Jimmy Hawkins, Carol Coombs, along with Karolyn Grimes are all in discussions to reprise their roles as the original George Bailey's children.

Karolyn Grimes expressed a little bit of excitement at the prospect of a sequel in a statement about the script: "The new film will retain the feeling of the original, and it simply must be shared. I've probably read close to 20 scripts over the years suggesting a sequel to 'It's a Wonderful Life', but none of them were any good. The script by Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton was wonderful, and I wanted to be involved with his version of the film immediately."

While that does seem reassuring that the sequel should stay true to the feel of the original, I still cannot help but wonder if a sequel is even necessary to such a classic film as It's a Wonderful Life. I might have been ok with a remake (though even that would have felt unnecessary), but a full-blown sequel almost 70 years after the fact just does not quite have the same appeal. I am also worried that the project is being rushed a little too much to make it for a 2015 release. If a sequel is going to happen I would rather they take their time to do it well. I would be ok with waiting until 2016 or 2017 for the sequel.

Still, as a huge fan of the original I will most likely see the sequel regardless of my reservations about the film. I just hope Karolyn Grimes' remarks about the script are true and that it really does stay true to the original. I am going to be pretty disappointed if it does not happen.



It's a Wonderful Life: The Rest of the Story is set to be released during the 2015 holiday season.

UPDATE: As it turns out, the sequel will most likely not happen anytime soon due to Bob Farnsworth and Martha Bolton not actually owning the rights to the story. It's A Wonderful Life was in the public domain for years, but Paramount Pictures now owns the rights and so no one can create any project that is in any way related to It's A Wonderful Life.

Source: Screen Rant