Well here’s a fun slice of trivia not often talked about: why Wayne’s World 2 was such a messy sequel. According to information dished out over at , it’s simply because the script was rewritten at the last minute. Why do such a thing? To avoid being sued. Apparently star/producer/writer Mike Myers had based the original script for the follow-up on a 1950s comedy (Passport to Pimlico) and hadn’t bothered to make sure Paramount had the rights!
Naturally the studio flipped out when realizing this only weeks before shooting, with then-head honcho Sherry Lansing threatening to outright destroy Myers if he didn’t fix his screw-up pronto. The star ended up feverishly rewriting the script as fast as he could after his disastrous meeting with Lansing, whom he never made another film for. Wayne’s World 2 ultimately under-performed upon release.
I’m not familiar with Passport to Pimlico, so I can’t really comment on what the film might have been like had it stuck to its original screenplay. Might it have been a bigger hit? Possibly, but given how things have gone over the years, I still doubt that we would have ever received a Wayne’s World 3. A third outing was oft-rumored throughout the ’90s and even the early ’00s, but a falling out between Myers and co-star Dana Carvey at the time made sure it would never happen.
Could it still happen someday? Anything is possible. I doubt it, however. After all, Hollywood still hasn’t managed to craft new nostaliga-fueled sequels to the Bill & Ted and Austin Powers franchises, despite both being in development for years now. Given that both seem to have a bit more cultural heat these days than the Wayne’s World films, a return seems unlikely.
Bottom line? Don’t base your story on an existing property if you do not already have the legal right to do so. Sure, you might skate by and get away with it, but chances are the legal hammer will fall upon your head eventually. Just ask the makers of Lockout, who were recently successfully sued in France for their film’s resemblance to Escape from New York & Escape from L.A.! Paramount is lucky they caught this potential pitfall when they did.
