Judd Apatow's This Is 40 Sequel Officially In Development, And You'll Never Guess The Title
Gather round Judd-heads, we've got the Apatow announcement you (might?) be waiting for. A decade after the popular comedy director dropped "This is 40," the kind of sort of sequel to "Knocked Up," he's considering taking us all back into the R-rated minds of his favorite married couple and their grown-up children.
That's right, if Apatow has his way, "This Is 50" could be sliding into a movie theater/onto a streaming service near you ... in the next few years. Movies take a lot of time and considering "This is 50" is still percolating in Apatow's brain, who knows how long it might actually take until the project is complete? Still, if you're invested in the larger "Knocked Up" cinematic universe, it must be a thrilling day.
Apatow shared his interest in working on a sequel (or would that make this a kind of sort of trilogy?) in an interview with The Wrap about his soon-to-be-released Netflix film, "The Bubble," where he candidly said, "I've always wanted to make 'This Is 50' and it is time."
The "Knocked Up" director went on to explain that he felt like the time seemed ripe to check in on Debbie (played by Apatow's wife Leslie Mann), Pete (played by Paul Rudd), and their two children, Sadie and Charlotte (who were played by Apatow's daughters Maude and Iris):
"I couldn't have done it five years ago and I can't do it five years from now, so I've been outlining that and hope it's something that we get to do. I feel like ['This Is 40'] has really aged well, and it always feels like everyone watches it when they turn 40 and they go, 'Oh, I understand it all now' [laughs]. So I'm enthusiastic about putting that together."
This Is A Movie
We can safely assume that the plot of "This Is 50" would revolve around Debbie and Pete getting closer to the big 5-0. That said, Apatow also mentioned in the same interview that he was especially interested in exploring Sadie and Charlotte's characters, who would be around the ages of 23 and 18 if you consider that fun 10 year time jump.
It's no surprise that his daughters would play a larger role in the possible sequel, especially since they would be portraying real adults with real adult problems. In the years since "This Is 40," Maude Apatow has also become well known for her portrayal as the bookish Lexi Howard in HBO's hit TV show "Euphoria." Here's hoping that "This Is 50" sees her playing a different kind of role, if only because she's nailed Lexi so completely, it would be fun to watch her take her talent in a completely different direction.
As for the director himself, he seems optimistic about the sequel's chances. With two movies finished filming, including "The Bubble" which drops April 1, 2022, and "Bros" which is in postproduction, it sounds like Apatow is already lining up his next project. He's said as much: "I'm hoping that comes together. I have an idea that I really like for it."