Nine years went between the release of the first and second ANCHORMAN movies, so anyone expecting the third movie also knew to expect a wait. That is, of course, if we even get a third movie at all. Director Adam McKay is leaving the door open for another movie and now seems to have a much clearer idea as to where to take it.
McKay briefly spoke with CinemaBlend about the potential plot for a third ANCHORMAN movie, touching on an idea he threw out there a few years ago.
I can give you like a little half sentence. I don't know if you remember the first and even the second Iraq war. Maybe it was mainly the second Iraq war. They embedded journalists and that gave us kind of a whole story idea… I don't want to say too much, but I'll just tell you that embedded journalist, Ron Burgundy, Veronica Corningstone, the news team. That definitely gave us a big idea.
Back in 2015 (the year his movie THE BIG SHORT came out), McKay said he would want to place Ron Burgandy in a setting involving the rise of new media and the internet age, also talking about this Iraq War idea. At the time McKay said he and Will Ferrell weren't too serious about the "embedding journalists" angle, but now it seems the idea has grown on them, and perhaps they’ve expanded on it as they've moved away from the "new media" story.
The last movie made $173 million globally and earned overall better reviews from critics, but audiences have been more vocal against the movie, saying it paled in comparison to the original. Even though Ferrell and McKay have a good idea where to take the character, it doesn't seem like Paramount is rushing to do another movie so soon. I for one found the sequel quite funny and enjoyable and would be down for another entry. The actors are all so talented and hysterical that they could make any situation worth paying money for. If they take as long on a third one as they did a second it will be about another four years before it comes out. But, hey, if James Cameron gets to take that long, so can McKay.