More than two decades after Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry turned competing dating schemes into an unlikely romance, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is preparing for another round.
Paramount is developing a sequel to the popular 2003 romantic comedy, with original star Kate Hudson taking an important role behind the scenes as a producer. Stacey Sher is also producing the project through her Shiny Penny banner.
Fans hoping to see Hudson reunite with Matthew McConaughey have good reason to be interested, but shouldn’t pick out their movie-night outfits just yet.
The sequel remains in the early stages of development, and neither Hudson nor McConaughey has been confirmed as a returning cast member. The intention is reportedly to have the pair reprise their roles as Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry, but several major pieces need to fall into place first.
Among them is the screenplay. The project is still searching for a writer, and a storyline has not yet been finalized. That means the exact direction of Andie and Ben’s next chapter remains wide open.
The original movie turned an intentionally disastrous romance into one of the more memorable romantic comedies of the early 2000s. Hudson played Andie, a magazine columnist who set out to demonstrate how quickly a woman could drive away a boyfriend. Unfortunately for her experiment, she chose Ben, an advertising executive with a secret challenge of his own: prove that he could make a woman fall in love with him.
The conflicting schemes provided the comedy, while Hudson and McConaughey’s chemistry helped give the movie staying power well beyond its theatrical run.
Released in 2003, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days earned about $177.5 million worldwide on a reported $50 million budget. It subsequently remained a recognizable favorite among romantic comedy audiences.
Talk of another movie has circulated for years. Hudson previously indicated that both she and McConaughey were open to returning, provided they found a script worthy of revisiting the characters.
Now, for the first time, those sequel conversations have turned into an actual project under development at Paramount.
The timing also fits Hollywood’s renewed appetite for familiar films from the late 1990s and early 2000s. Studios have increasingly returned to movies and franchises from that period, betting that nostalgia can bring longtime fans back while introducing established properties to younger audiences.
For How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, however, nostalgia alone may not be enough. Much of the original movie’s appeal rested on the playful battle between its two leads, making the potential return of Hudson and McConaughey especially important.
There is still no announced production schedule or release date, and plenty could change as development continues. But after 23 years, Andie and Ben are officially closer to a reunion than they’ve been in a very long time.
