A recent rumor online started to spread that A Simple Favor 2, the long-awaited sequel to the 2018 hit A Simple Favor, was shelved by Amazon indefinitely due to behind-the-scenes conflicts between stars Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively . Like many rumors online, it had no source but quickly gained traction. Yet the film's director, Paul Feig, promptly took to social media to not only shut down the rumor but also provide some education on filmmaking.
Paul Feig responded to the X thread, saying, "This is total BS. The movie is finished and coming out soon. Don't believe anything you read on social media these days."
The post in question claimed that Amazon MGM had decided to shelve A Simple Favor 2 due to star Blake Lively refusing to promote the movie amid her ongoing legal battle with director Justin Baldoni. The post tried to claim that Kendrick and Lively feuded on set, reigniting an old rumor that the two did not get along on the set of A Simple Favor, yet no concrete evidence was ever provided. When the original poster pushed back against Feig's claim, wondering why the movie hadn't been released yet despite having wrapped in the spring of 2024, Feig not only gave a timeline for the film's post-production but hinted it would be out in the spring of 2025. Feig said:
"My friend, it's called post production, which generally takes over half a year at least when you factor in editing, scoring, special effects, sound mixing, close captioning and all the technical quality control that has to be done," wrote Feig. "Our post schedule always had us finishing everything by mid-January. Movies don't come out the second they're finished because the studio spends the previous year deciding the best date to release it. We've always planned on something in the spring/summer of this year. That's how movies work. I hope this helps."
Plans for A Simple Favor 2 were first announced in May 2022, with the project officially beginning filming in March 2024. Production wrapped in May 2024 and seemingly will be released in the spring of 2025, giving it nearly a year of post-production work, Feig said. This is almost exactly the same window of time that A Simple Favor had for its production, with filming beginning in August 2017 and being released in September 2018. It shows that the sequel is on track. While reports of movies being scrapped have become far too common, nothing about A Simple Favor 2's production has suggested there were any problems.
The Spread of Misinformation Online is Growing
It is worth noting the original poster, the account Eric B, tried to push back again, saying, "Respect your work, Paul, but let's get real:
@blakelively isn't just refusing to promote A Simple Favor 2 -- her legal mess is dragging the film down. Just ask @justinbaldoni
about her history of derailing (and EDITING) projects. Don't let this masterpiece suffer."
The tone and anti-Lively stance of the comments, despite it discussing a movie of which Lively is the star, raises some red flags, particularly following ongoing claims of smear campaigns being instigated by Justin Baldoni's publicity team during the It Ends with Us press tour, something that Baldoni's press team denies. The individual spreading the rumors of A Simple Favor 2 seems to be in the camp of people who believed that Justin Baldoni had his film taken away from him while ignoring the other allegations against him brought up in Lively's lawsuit.
Related Blake Lively Files Second Lawsuit as Justin Baldoni Sues New York Times
Lively's new suit doubles down on her previous complaints, while Baldoni's makes some surprising claims.
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This is just one of many cases where misinformation has been spread online with no valid sources to back it up. Now, as organizations like Meta roll back fact-checking features, it is more important to be diligent when information like this pops up to double-check the sources. When false information like this spreads sensationalist news to draw clicks, it can reshape narratives that can be weaponized to create false perceptions in people's minds that are far from the truth.
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*Availability in US Release Date September 14, 2018 Director Paul Feig Cast Eric Johnson , Linda Cardellini , Joshua Satine , Jean Smart , Henry Golding , Anna Kendrick , Blake Lively
