‘Triplets’ Writer Offers Status Update on ‘Twins’ Sequel

[RoadWarrior]

Actor Josh Gad is blowing up in a big way. From “seen him somewhere” movie roles, to headlining Book of Mormon on stage; starring in the short-lived sitcom 1600 Penn; voicing Frozen‘s Olaf and soon starring alongside Kevin Hart in The Wedding Ringer; Gad has been making the right moves to become a known talent.

That work extends behind the camera, as well: Gad is one of the two screen writers tapped to pen Triplets, a sequel to the ’80s odd-pair comedy Twins, which had Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator Genysis) and Danny DeVito (It’s Always Sunny…) playing long-lost “twins.” Triplets (as the name implies) would introduce yet another anatomically mismatched sibling into the mix.

When doing a Reddit Q&A to promote The Wedding Ringer, Gad was pitched several questions about the status of Triplets. Here are his answers (via /Film):

THE STATUS OF TRIPLETS

1) Uh, you know… the script is actually done. Everybody agrees that it’s great. We wound up doing 2 drafts. Universal, I think, hit the pause button temporarily for whatever reason – internally I think they are trying to figure out if they want to do a sequel or not. I would say if there’s an outpouring of affection, that may move the needle, but I think it’s on hold right now. But everybody read the script and loved it, so I hope it sees the light of day at some point. It’s there and in great shape.

THE STORY OF TRIPLETS

2) Well, the lives have changed in that the two of them find themselves at a major crossroads where they’ve sort of grown apart over the years and what winds up bringing them together is a 3rd brother they never knew they had who could potentially be played by Eddie Murphy…

IF HE WILL STAR IN IT, AS WELL

3) The answer to that is: most likely not, just because I wrote the film as a fan of the original movie TWINS. It was never written for me to be in it. Having said that, there is currently a role in the movie where Arnold has a son that looks like Danny, and Danny has a son that looks like Arnold. That could be fun, but as of right now, I have no intention of being a part of it.

We first heard word of Triplets with Eddie Murphy happening about three years back (or longer), and the movie has not materialized since. Excluding DeVito (who’s doing just fine with It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia), career comeback runs from both Schwarzenegger and Murphy have not had much success at all in recent years, with film like Tower Heist, The Last Stand, Escape Plan and more proving that old dogs are not the box office draws they once were.

That weakens the prospects of Triplets’ success, but if anything it could be the best shot Schwarzenegger and Murphy have. Arnold may draw fresh water from the Terminator well later this year, but that’s far from a guarantee.

In any event, the humor of the Triplets concept is its best selling point; though this is not the ’80s anymore. Today’s audiences could arguably scoff at a sight gag like Schwarzenegger, DeVito and Murphy claiming to be identical Twins. Dumb & Dumber was an icon of the ’90s, and many would say that Dumb & Dumber To - no matter how faithful a recreation – just couldn’t work the same magic as before. Triplets could face the same fate.

No doubt Universal is debating that same gamble. We’ll keep you updated on Triplets in the meantime.