Jason Statham’s Spy was successful enough to leave room for another installment, but the action comedy never became a franchise. Melissa McCarthy has now discussed why Spy 2 failed to materialize, pointing to changing expectations around movie budgets and profitability. She also revealed that the filmmakers were prepared to return to the characters with a new story.
Melissa McCarthy says Spy 2 should have happened
In a recent interview with Variety, McCarthy was asked why a sequel to the 2015 film never moved forward, including whether her gender played a role. She acknowledged that it may not have helped, but argued that the movie’s performance should have supported another chapter.
“No — well, Jesus, that probably doesn’t help, but I don’t know. It did so well. People can say that doesn’t matter. I think it does,” McCarthy said. She compared the situation with Thunder Force, explaining that the team had already been discussing another installment after the Netflix film performed well.
“For Thunder Force, we were going to roll right into another one. We were like, ‘It’s so fun. It did incredibly well for Netflix. We already have the idea for it.'” McCarthy also discussed what she sees as a shift in how studios approach movies. She said that if she and Ben Falcone write something that fails, they accept responsibility for it, adding that they do not make billion-dollar movies.
“We don’t make those kind of movies, but, I mean, $120 million, I’m not mad at that. The studio’s not mad at that,” she continued. According to McCarthy, the filmmakers wanted to make “a reasonably priced” movie that could generate a fair profit. However, she believes “that model is no longer desirable.”
When the interviewer suggested that Spy could have become a franchise, McCarthy agreed. As previously reported, she said the people involved were ready to continue the story, adding, “We should be on the ninth Spy!”
McCarthy also explained that the team had ideas for continuing the franchise, including introducing a new villain and moving the story to a new location.
