Kevin Hart and Ice Cube have officially signed on for Ride Along 2 .
Since the movie was a runaway hit at the box office last month, it’s really no surprise that the folks over at Universal Pictures are itching to put together a sequel. According to Variety , Ride Along director Tim Story will step behind the camera for the follow-up. Shooting is currently expected to begin this summer.
Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, two of the four guys responsible for penning the original script, will return to pen the sequel. Although Kevin Hart and his co-star are both returning for Ride Along 2 , it’s unclear what the fellas are up to in the next installment.
Universal Pictures had an unexpected hit on their hands when the comedy landed in theaters on January 17. The studio only spent around $25 million on the production, which makes the picture’s $117 million domestic haul so incredibly impressive.
Kevin Hart told the folks at Collider earlier this year that he has nothing but the utmost respect for co-star Ice Cube. While he was ridiculously excited to work with the rapper-turned-actor before he met the guy, his enthusiasm for the project grew once they finally had a chance to chat.
The comedian explained:
“Once we got on set, we both had the same agenda, which was to knock this movie out of the damn park and make sure we both brought our A-game. It takes a true professional to let someone like myself come in and have the opportunity to be funny and riff, and Cube didn’t mind doing that. That’s a major thing. There are so many people who would try to battle with the funny. Cube did a great job of playing his lane and letting me do my thing, and I take my hat off to him for that. It’s a different level of respect I have for guys like that.”
Kevin Hart has certainly proven his cinematic worth over the past several weeks. Not only was Ride Along a hit with moviegoers, his romantic comedy About Last Night also made a respectable amount of money over the weekend. The $12 million remake of the 80s flick earned $25.6 million on opening weekend.
If you need even more Hart in your cinematic diet this year, then you’ll want to mark the release date for Tim Story’s Think Like a Man Too on your calendars. The follow-up to the box office hit arrives on the big screen in North America on June 20. Chances are audiences will flock to that cinematic endeavor as well.
Are you excited that Kevin Hart and Ice Cube are re-teaming for director Tim Story’s Ride Along 2 ?