Grinch 2 in the works with Jim Carrey in talks to return and Ron Howard expected to direct
Jim Carrey is in talks to reprise his role as the Grinch in a How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Ron Howard expected to helm the sequel.
Jim Carrey is in talks to reprise his role as the Grinch.
The 64-year-old actor portrayed the cynical and scheming green-furred creature in 2000 movie How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and he's expected to return for a sequel.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a follow-up film about the Dr. Seuss character, with Ron Howard set to direct the Christmas movie.
Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel are to pen the script for the motion picture, after they teamed up for Dr. Seuss' The Cat in the Hat adaptation in 2003.
In 2024, Carrey admitted he was willing to return for a How the Grinch Stole Christmas sequel - as long as it is in motion capture.
He told ComicBook.com: "Oh, gosh, you know, if we could figure out the Grinch.
"The thing about it is, on the day, I do that with a ton of makeup and can hardly breathe. It was an extremely excruciating process.
"The children were in my mind all the time. 'It's for the kids. It's for the kids. It's for the kids.' And now, with motion capture and things like that, I could be free to do other things. Anything is possible in this world."
Carrey spent around eight hours a day in make-up to be turned green for the Grinch role, but Howard previously revealed the actor threatened to quit on the first day of filming.
He only stayed after the movie hired a man who had experience training CIA officers in "how to endure torture".
Carrey told Vulture: "Richard Marcinko was a gentleman that trained CIA officers and special-ops people how to endure torture.
"He gave me a litany of things that I could do when I began to spiral. Like punch myself in the leg as hard as I can. Have a friend that I trust and punch him in the arm. Eat everything in sight. Changing patterns in the room.
"If there’s a TV on when you start to spiral, turn it off and turn the radio on.
"Smoke cigarettes as much as possible. There are pictures of me as the Grinch sitting in a director’s chair with a long cigarette holder.
"I had to have the holder, because the yak hair would catch on fire if it got too close."
How the Grinch Stole Christmas proved a hit at the box office, but the effort required to get Carrey into character was also gruelling for special effects makeup artist Kazuhiro Tsuji.
Tsuji told Vulture in 2018: "In the makeup trailer he just suddenly stands up and looks in the mirror, and pointing on his chin, he goes, 'This colour is different from what you did yesterday.'
"I was using the same colour I used yesterday. He says, 'Fix it.' And okay, you know, I 'fixed' it. Every day was like that."
