Not all of last summer's biggest box office hits had to do with guys in spandex costumes fighting aliens or masked terrorists. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel came out of nowhere and appealed to a largely ignored audience, with that bit of counter-programming leading to a whopping $130M+ haul on a paltry budget. It was so successful that studios have discovered catering to older folks can be a lucrative exercise, so it was no surprise when we learned a sequel was in the works.
John Madden and Ol Parker are coming back to direct and pen the script, and Showbiz411 says that they may be adding Colin Firth and Helen Mirren to the cast. They refer to them as "likely additions", whatever that means. They're also looking for an American actress to round out the group. Mirren's going to add quite a bit of fire already, but I'd love it if they picked Blythe Danner or Susan Sarandon, who I think can be downbeat if called upon and should fit in with the rest of the cast quite nicely. Colin Firth still seems too young for a movie like this, but maybe he's playing a doctor or something
After some discussion, the decision was made to keep all of the characters in India for the follow-up. A smart decision, if you ask me. What made the last film work as much as it did was seeing these characters thrust into a totally unfamiliar land at a point in their lives where many rely on familiarity to get by. The last thing this needed to turn into was "Exotic Marigold Hotel: Thailand" or something else silly like that.
