Lucy Liu doesn’t think Charlie’s Angels 3 is feasible

Last Updated on February 19, 2024

It’s been over twenty years since Lucy Liu first suited up as one of Charlie’s Angels alongside Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore, and despite the fan demand for Charlie’s Angels 3, she doesn’t think it will happen.

While speaking with Variety, Lucy Liu didn’t seem optimistic about a third installment. “I honestly don’t know how that’s going to be feasible,” she said. “There have been so many iterations, even after the fact … In some ways, it’s such a strange thing to think about it. Times have changed so much since then.“

Liu did say that doing publicity for the movies with Diaz and Barrymore was a big moment. “At that time, when we were doing publicity, they had never before had three women on a magazine cover,” Liu continued. “They didn’t even know how to do it. It was such a strange thing for women to collaborate and be seen as colleagues and friends. It was such a big moment in time, and now it’s shifted. Even when I was doing ‘Ally McBeal,’ there had never been a lead woman in that way. There was Mary Tyler Moore and things like that, but the focus has changed. I’m not in charge of that, but I always enjoy the time that I have and then I move on. I never really dwell on anything like that. But I really would be shocked if that happened.“

To be fair to Liu, she likely has complicated feelings, at least about the first film, due to rampant rumours of a feud between her and the movie’s Bosley, Bill Murray. A few years ago, someone who worked on the film posted a pretty thorough blow-by-blow of the incident, which you can read about here. Suffice it to say, the drama allegedly revolved around Murray (and his people) rewriting a key scene in the movie. When Liu called him out, he told her, “I don’t know why you’re complaining…look who you’re in here with. You’re TV, and this is the big league.” Liu’s response to that was to call him a dirty name and leave the stage, after which Murray reportedly offered an (insincere) apology. Suffice to say, he was not invited back for the sequel.

Drew Barrymore has expressed an interest in returning for Charlie’s Angels 3. “Those are interesting challenges because they have been established. That really is building upon something,” Barrymore said last year. “There’s so much history there that they don’t feel like [the work of] making films. It’s like, ‘Do you want to spend your life doing that? With those people?’ Yes. I would show up. I really would.”

McG, who directed Charlie’s Angels and Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, has also said that he’d like to see the original trio return, even if he’s not at the helm. “There always seems to be chatter about that. I’m very happy to discuss it with Drew and Cameron and Lucy, but at the same time, I’m very happy to pass the torch,” McG said. “I mean, I love the Tim Burton Batman movies, I love the new Batman movies. It’s just sort of like there can be a keeper of the flame and you can pass the torch.“