Good news for the fans of the 2009 cult classic Jennifer’s Body: we might be getting a sequel or a reboot.
Diablo Cody, Jennifer’s Body’s screenwriter, recently spoke to People about her newest film Lisa Frankenstein. In the interview, she mentioned that she hopes that a Jennifer’s Body reboot or sequel could come to fruition.
“I think something will happen, I do. And I’m excited about it,” she told People. “But it’s one of those things where you’re constantly having to push. There’s a lot of content out there right now and a lot of people trying to remake existing IP.”
Jennifer’s Body didn’t initially perform well at the box office upon release, but turned into a cult classic in the following years as fans fell in love with its campy-gory-sexy-satirical-sapphic vibe.
“Jennifer’s Body, when it came out, the movie was not a success. And that was incredibly painful for me, because I loved that movie and it was such a personal project for me,” Cody said. “I was badly injured.”
Not only did the film eventually pick up cult-classic status, it has been the subject of many think pieces — and many fantasies. The film is heralded in some circles as a feminist masterpiece, and the kiss between Amanda Seyfried and Megan Fox is heralded in all circles as a feminist masterpiece.
Still, Cody still worries about the original “flop” Jennifer’s Body took at the box office in 2009.
“It’s challenging, because they go, ‘But the movie didn’t do well.’ And it’s like, ‘Yeah, but everything’s different now. So believe in me,’ ” Cody told People. “The Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie didn’t do well either, and then look what the series did.”
The cult love that Jennifer’s Body eventually did receive inspired Cody to make another film in the comedy-horror genre, her most recent Lisa Frankenstein, which stars Kathryn Newton and Cole Sprouse.
“Then years passed, and suddenly people began to embrace that movie, and now the movie has a fan base. That was so invigorating to me and so exciting.”
She continued, “I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to go back to that world. I’ve always wanted to, and now I feel like I have permission to do that.’ ”
When asked if she were to make Jennifer’s Body today, would she do anything differently with the material, Cody responded, “The only thing that I would do today — because I could — is I would love there to be a more overtly queer relationship between Jennifer and Needy. At the time, the furthest we could go with the studio film was the kiss, and now I think you could really allow those characters to be who they were. But that’s the only change I can think of.”