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Warning: SPOILERS for Another Simple Favor are in the works. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you’ve been warned.
Dear readers, if you thought Another Simple Favor wasn’t going to get wild on the 2025 movie schedule, you’ve officially been proven wrong. And no, I’m not just talking about Another Simple Favor’s cliffhanger ending leading to a pretty outrageous path to a potential third installment. Instead, it’s time to talk about how the return of Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick’s frenemy murder mystery franchise came to be.
That approach includes discussing the creative reason that crazy moment between Ms. Lively and ‘you know who’ took place. The identify of that other party is a pretty huge spoiler, so if you haven’t solved this mystery yet, you can check out our Another Simple Favor review as you avoid spoilers. But if you’re ready to dig deeper, let’s begin.
Paul Feig And Company Kept A Simple Favor Fans In Mind When Making The Sequel
During my recent chat with director Paul Feig, the helmer of both A Simple Favor and its sequel acknowledged the perils of returning without a good reason. Celebrating the release of Another Simple Favor to Prime Video subscription holders, Feig shared his compelling case for that foundation with CinemaBlend through this initial follow-up concern:
The movie had built such a big fan base over the years since it first came out: first in the theaters, and then on streaming. And I wanted to pay that forward. I wanna make sure that the people who really loved the first movie got what they loved from it.
Honoring the total craziness of 2018’s predecessor isn’t an easy feat. Let’s not forget that A Simple Favor’s ending got pretty twisty with how it wrapped the first meeting between Hope McClendon/Emily Nelson (Blake Lively) and Stephanie Smothers (Anna Kendrick). Putting your heart in the right place is a good stepping stone forward though, especially when the end result takes a couple years to arrive.
That approach was still very much in mind when Paul Feig’s thoughts on A Simple Favor 3 entered the conversation as well. So honoring the fans of both previous entries would be just as important for a third go at this dark comedy series. And as we’re about to discuss, that next entry might be harder to dream up than it looks.
Another Simple Favor’s Revealing Flashback Is A Prime Example Of Its ‘Out Of Control’ Tone
The script by writers Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis ultimately locked in all of the elements above. In terms of honoring the original, catty frenemies Emily/Hope and Stephanie have even sharper barbs to hurl at each other in Another Simple Favor. But when it came to the McClendon family tree, a very wild left turn was taken.
Through the addition of triplet Charity (Blake LIvely) and the obsession with her surviving sister, a scene so shocking that the internet is still debating it took place. As we find out that Charity sexually assaulted a drugged-out Hope, there are probably some who are still reeling from the drop. So it’s a good time to read Paul Feig’s other sequel note below:
…we plussed it up, and gave [Emily and Stephanie] a new adventure, and took them to a new place, but still keeping that tone of it. Also I thought it’d be kind of fun to spin it even more out of control, which I really enjoy doing.
It’s a moment that’s handled with the same sick, twisted humor you’d have expected from these characters. After all, Emily/Hope doesn’t show any outward trauma, and even Stephanie knows to use the moment to call her a “sister fucker.” Ultimately Another Simple Favor’s unsettling family tree is played for authentic laughs instead of basic trauma.
But that’s up for interpretation by the audience this destination murder mystery is looking to please. All I can definitively say is that it certainly is an out of control gag one would expect from Paul Feig: a director who’s so stylishly funny, this is how he lampoons the fact that he’s made his first cinematic sequel:
Yes, he does sequels. Paul Feig invites you back for Another Simple Favor, available May 1 on Prime Video. pic.twitter.com/NRU8hGqp7HApril 22, 2025
If you’re ready to do yourself Another Simple Favor (no pun intended), then you can stream the Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick starring sequel right now – only on Prime Video! And if there is a third entry to be announced in the near future, I send my heartfelt wishes of good luck to the writers, as this is gonna be a hard act to top. Perhaps space is the best way forward….