Jamie Dornan weighs in on the possibility of a sequel to Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar. The surreal comedy movie was released direct to VOD in early 2021 amid worldwide theatrical closures during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. It followed middle-aged Midwestern best friends Barb (Annie Mumolo) and Star (Kristen Wiig) when their vacation to Vista del Mar was interrupted by an evil plot to destroy the town concocted by the Bond villain-esque Sharon Fisherman (also Wiig) and her hapless, lovelorn lackie Edgar (Dornan), who found himself falling in love with Star.
Collider recently interviewed Dornan while he was promoting The Tourist season 2. During their conversation, the Barb and Star star weighed in on the possibility of Barb and Star Go to Vista del Mar 2. While Dornan has “had a couple of conversations” with Wiig and Mumolo, the movie’s release being compromised during the pandemic complicated the process. He says that “if more people had seen it in the right way at the time, then these would probably be easier conversations,” but if offered the opportunity, he would “go anywhere with those guys.” Read his full quote below:
I have had a couple of conversations with Kristen and Annie about like, doing more, you know slightly unfortunate, like COVID-y timing with the release of that. And I do think it’s found a really lovely audience who really genuinely like, love it. But because of the way it came out and the timings of it and not getting a cinematic release because of the cinemas been closed. It was just tough [and] I feel like more people should know it. And if more people had seen it in the right way at the time, then these would probably be easier conversations to be having about doing more because you could do endless, I mean, they could – Barb and Star and Edgar could go anywhere , [and] I would go anywhere with those guys. So I’ll keep knocking on the door and see if, you know, it would be a great thing. I’d love it.
Could A Barb & Star Sequel Actually Happen?
As Dornan says, the first Barb and Star movie was compromised by the complicated distribution period in which it was released. Because VOD numbers are less transparent than box office results, it is difficult to tell if the movie was a financial success. However, in theaters, it only made $32,825 from a slim release in some international markets. The budget of the movie has not been officially released, so the studio’s reluctance to announce the number could indicate that it did not make its money back on VOD.
While the 2021 comedy movie was a critical success, its distribution model also rendered it ineligible for many major awards. While broad comedy movies don’t always have major traction during awards season, Wiig and Mumolo’s previous comedy movie Bridesmaids was nominated for two Oscars, setting a strong precedent for Barb and Star. If it had been given a proper theatrical release, the movie could have been an especially strong contender in screenplay, costuming, makeup, and production design categories, in addition to a possible Best Original Song nod for the surprise musical number “Edgar’s Prayer.”
