After a couple of years in production, we can now confirm that Half Baked 2 is fully baked and on its way to the cult followers of the original Dave Chapelle-led movie Half Baked which first graced our screens in 1998. According to a report from Deadline, filming for the project — which occurred entirely in Baton Rouge, Louisiana — has wrapped. The report also reveals that Rachel True, who played fan-favorite Mary Jane, is back to reprise her role in the sequel along with a host of new faces joining the cast.
Dexter Darden (Maze Runner), Moses Storm (Unfriended), Ramona Young (Never Have I Ever), Ash Santos (True Story), Joel Courtney (The Kissing Booth), and David Koechner (Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy) all make up the new cast set to be introduced in the sequel. With this fresh set of young talents, producers are looking to initiate more into the cult following of the stoner comedy classic. While Chappelle won’t be reprising his role as Thurgood Jenkins, his character sort of lives on in this sequel as the story will center on his son JR (Darden) and his friends as they explore marijuana use. The team of best friends, including JR, Miles (Storm), and Cori (Young), is on a quest to gather money for the funeral arrangements of their friend Bruce (Courtney) who kicked the bucket after “smoking the most powerful joint in the world.”
Producers are hoping that the sequel will build upon the success of the original movie with Glenn Ross, General Manager and Executive Vice President of Universal 1440 Entertainment saying:
“We are thrilled to announce the next chapter in Half Baked, with new characters and a hilarious story that is sure to satisfy followers of the original film while attracting a whole new generation of fans. Expressing anticipation over the sequel, Ross added; “we can’t wait to show audiences where the story goes from here.”
The original movie was critically panned and barely made double its $8 million budget, however, the film rose to cult status following a re-release on DVD. That unexpected success was chiefly thanks to the career breakthrough of its lead Chappelle whose fans were eager to binge anything that had his name on it following his meteoric rise to fame. Despite becoming a sleeper hit, Chappelle remains unimpressed with the classic revealing that the plot’s massive potential was killed off by the outcome of the movie which was different from what producers originally fronted.
The sequel will also see the return of yet another original cast in Harland Williams. There are also special appearances from Frankie Muniz, and comedian Jeff Ross. Justin Hires (21 Jump Street) penned the script which was directed by Michael Tiddes (Sextuplets). Griff Furst served as producer.
A release date is yet to be set for Half Baked 2, however, producers are planning a worldwide non-theatrical release next year.
