Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a sequel to How the Grinch Stole Christmas, with Jim Carrey in talks to reprise the Grinch and Ron Howard set to return as director. The project is still untitled, but the move puts one of the most durable holiday films back in motion more than two decades after it first arrived.
The news lands now because Carrey’s return would reunite the actor with the role that defined the 2000 movie, while Howard would step back behind the camera with Brian Grazer producing alongside him. Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel are writing the script, and the overlap is notable: the trio also worked on the 2003 Seuss adaptation The Cat in the Hat. Universal and Dr. Seuss Enterprises are keeping the project close, with Susan Brandt overseeing the sequel for Dr. Seuss Enterprises and Britt Hennemuth and Christina Hoffrogge overseeing it for Universal.
The original film was not just a box-office hit. Released in 2000, How the Grinch Stole Christmas finished as the top domestic movie of the year with $260 million and took in $345 million worldwide. It also won the best makeup Oscar for Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan, after a process that took around eight hours a day on Carrey before it was reduced to three hours a day. Carrey has said he wanted to quit on day one of production and return his $20 million fee, a reminder that the performance came with real discomfort behind the green face.
That history matters because the film never really went away. It has been among Nielsen’s top 10 most streamed holiday movies in each of the past five years, and last year it peaked at No. 2 on the movies chart with 962 million minutes viewed during Dec. 15-Dec. 28. It even ranked ahead of Dr. Seuss’ the Grinch in last year’s holiday streaming ratings, even as that 2018 animated film reached No. 8 in the week ahead of Dec. 25.
Still, the sequel is not locked in. Carrey is only in talks, not formally confirmed, and the story remains untitled, which leaves the two most important questions open: whether the original star and director will actually sign on, and what shape the new Grinch story will take if they do. For now, the project is moving because the property still draws viewers and the people who made the first live-action version work are being brought back to try it again.
