Fourteen years after its release, the 2003 romantic comedy “Love Actually” is actually getting a sequel--but there’s a catch. The follow-up won’t be a full-length film. It’ll be a short film, instead.
The belated sequel is being released as part of Comic Relief’s Red Nose Day, a telethon that raises money for the charity, and promises to reunite many of the original cast member and “Love Actually” writer-director Richard Curtis. The event was first held in the U.K. in 1988 and has since expanded to the U.S. where it’s broadcast by NBC.
Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, Colin Firth, Liam Neeson, Bill Nighy, Andrew Lincoln, Thomas Brodie-Sangster, Martine McCutcheon and Rowan Atkinson are listed among the many returning actors.
Notable absences from the list include Emma Thompson and Alan Rickman, who played husband and wife in the film. Rickman passed away in January of 2016. Laura Linney doesn't appear on the currently confirmed list either. Linney’s and Thompson’s stories are left with the least happy endings. A coincidence, perhaps?
Curtis has previously done Red Nose Day specials for Comic Relief, of which he is a trustee, and saidhe never would’ve dreamt of writing a sequel to “Love Actually,” but thought it would be fun to do 10 minutes to see where the characters are now. “Who has aged best? — I guess that’s the big question … or is it so obviously Liam?” Curtis said.
The short film is set to air across the pond March 24 on BBC One and in the U.S. on May 25.
So, what does love look like over a decade later? The new stories will be set in 2017, and we can make a few assumptions based on where our beloved characters left off.
Now, 10 minutes is not a lot of time. The film follows many intertwined stories, almost enough to dedicate one minute to each. If this short film is actually that short, it’ll be interesting to see how playing catch up with these character's lives goes down.
The mini sequel could go one of two ways: It could bring some satisfaction and closure, or it could ruin some of the endings that are better left assumed.
The script for the film is still a work in progress, and Emma Freud, director of Red Nose Day in Britain, tweeted that suggestions are welcome. So if you want to make your assumptions a reality, take to Twitter with your ideas and see what happens. You never know, your hopes and dreams for the characters may come true after all.
In the meantime, while you wait in suspense, ponder why Rowan Atkinson will be back for this short film considering he played the small role of a jeweler in the film and that's all we really know about his character.