The Nice Guys 2: Will It Happen? Everything We Know

Summary The demand for The Nice Guys 2 is higher than ever, despite the original movie being a box office bomb.

The streaming success of The Nice Guys has sparked renewed interest in a sequel, with fans praising the movie and demanding a follow-up.

While The Nice Guys 2 is not confirmed, director Shane Black and actors Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling have expressed interest in returning for the sequel.

It's been years since The Nice Guys hit theaters, and surprisingly, the demand for The Nice Guys 2 has never been higher. Released in 2016, The Nice Guys is a crime comedy starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe as two 1970s-era private detectives who reluctantly team up for a missing person's case. The movie was a hit with critics who praised the funny and slick style along with the chemistry between the two leads. Sadly, audiences didn't turn out as enthusiastically making it a box office bomb. However, since the original found purchase as a streaming hit over the years, there's now more demand for news on The Nice Guys 2 than ever before.

Directed by Shane Black, the filmmaker behind such crime favorites as Lethal Weapon and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, the movie was a funny and irreverent homage to 70s detective stories. Despite a Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%, the movie only managed to gross $62 million worldwide, barely covering the production budget of $50 million. However, the movie continues to find success on streaming platforms and remains in the pop culture conversation. Such enthusiasm for the cult hit could make The Nice Guys 2 a possibility, and while the updates on whether a sequel to The Nice Guys is happening are vague, they're certainly optimistic.

Related 10 Best Movies Like The Nice Guys The best movies like The Nice Guys don't just contain hilarious comedy but compelling mysteries too.

The Nice Guys 2: Latest News

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Since The Nice Guys tanked at the box office, he likely means a follow-up will never happen.

Less than a year after the movie found new life on streaming, the latest news comes as a negative update from Ryan Gosling on The Nice Guys 2. Speaking from a purely financial perspective, Gosling softly shot down hopes of a sequel nearly a decade later, saying "So much of a sequel, I think, is decided by the opening weekend." Since The Nice Guys tanked at the box office, he likely means a follow-up will never happen. However, he did lament the fact that the movie flopped, blaming it on being upstaged by the kid-friendly blockbuster, Angry Birds.

Read Gosling's full comments below:

So much of a sequel, I think, is decided by the opening weekend of a movie, and we opened up against Angry Birds. So Angry Birds just, just destroyed us. Angry Birds got a sequel.

The Nice Guys 2 Is Not Confirmed

Interest Is High But Nothing Is Confirmed

Despite demand from passionate fans, The Nice Guys 2 is not confirmed. However, there has been a lot of interest in a The Nice Guys sequel from the original team. Shane Black confirmed his desire to make The Nice Guys 2, saying "If someone decided that it were enough of a cult hit to justify that, I'd be on it," revealing that he has "all kinds of ideas" for the sequel. Russell Crowe also revealed that he and Ryan Gosling discussed ideas for The Nice Guys 2.

Stream The Nice Guys on Apple TV+.

The Nice Guys 2: Cast

Russell Crowe & Ryan Gosling Want To Return

The Nice Guys 2 cast has not been made official, but it is almost certain that the sequel would see the return of Russell Crowe as Jackson Healy and Ryan Gosling as Holland March. While not a pairing many would have predicted, viewers and critics alike raved about the surprising chemistry. Since The Nice Guys was released, Crowe had a particularly notable role in the 2023 horror film The Pope's Exorcist, and has a part in the upcoming Marvel movie Kraven the Hunter. Meanwhile, Ryan Gosling continues to be an acclaimed actor who has also received Oscar buzz for his scene-stealing role in the cast of Barbie as Ken.

The only other likely returning cast member for The Nice Guys 2 would be Angourie Rice as Holly March, Holland's teen daughter. Despite her young age, Holly was an enthusiastic participant in the investigation in the movie, showing a lot more maturity and moral strength than Jackson and Holland. The Nice Guys marked Rice's first big Hollywood movie and she has gone on to appear in shows like Mare of Easttown and movies like Spider-Man: Far From Home. She also played the lead role of Cady Heron in the recent musical reboot of Mean Girls.

The prospective cast of The Nice Guys 2 would likely include:

Actor The Nice Guys Role Ryan Gosling Holland March Russell Crowe Jackson Healy Angourie Rice Holly March

The Nice Guys 2 Story

Healy & March Reunite

What's happening in the narrative of the sequel to The Nice Guys won't be as pivotal to its success as Healy and March's chemistry.

There are no The Nice Guy 2 story details yet though Shane Black confirmed he has several ideas for the sequel. Russell Crowe shared The Nice Guys 2 idea he and Ryan Gosling discussed, saying "We wanted to call it Nice Guys: The Mexican Detectives. Bang! It's me and Ryan, somehow we've got to pretend we're Mexican detectives." While that is a ridiculous idea that is likely not the best direction to take for the sequel, there are plenty of other stories to tell.

Though the plot of The Nice Guys 2 is important, what made The Nice Guys so endearing was its characters, especially Healy and March. The sequel would likely be similarly character-focused, with the narrative being as intricate as a detective story should be, but ultimately of secondary importance. What's happening in the narrative of the sequel to The Nice Guys won't be as pivotal to its success as Healy and March's chemistry. All they need is an interesting case to get the story going and audiences would love to follow them on their next adventure in The Nice Guys 2.