When it comes to early-aughts romcoms, few can top the chemistry that came with Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey in the 2003 hit How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. And since we’re living in the era of reboots and remakes, it doesn’t seem off-base to wonder if there’s any chance a sequel could be in the works.
Well, hold on to your love fern, because Hudson’s July 17 appearance on Watch What Happens Live is sparking major speculation about the possible return of Andie Anderson and Benjamin Berry.
So… is a sequel on the way?
Not yet — that we know of, at least. But there’s certainly more hope for it today than there was a week ago.
WWHL host Andy Cohen is clearly also a fan of the film, as he cued up the convo by asking Hudson if they’d ever considered making a follow-up. “I think they’re always thinking about that,” Hudson admitted.
As is often the case when there’s talk of a nostalgic movie being revisited, though, it all comes down to the script. “All that matters would be the script and if Matthew and I were into the script,” she said. “I think we’re both totally open; it has just never happened.”
What have McConaughey and the other cast said?
As Hudson hinted during her WWHL appearance, McConaughey would also be open to bringing back the iconic duo of Andie and Ben. In 2020, while speaking with E!’s Daily Pop, he said, “I mean, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is teed up for one that you could easily do a sequel. And that was a really good one. As far as romantic comedies go, that was a really good one.”
He also nodded to the enduring appeal of the film, pointing out, “And it lasts! People still love that one. I enjoyed that one quite a bit.”
Director Donald Petrie told Vanity Fair in an interview for the movie’s 20th anniversary that his primary concern with a sequel would be its stars. “I don’t know how you would do it, frankly; I don’t think it would be the same without Kate and Matthew in it,” he said, adding, “It would have to be a writer coming in with an amazing pitch of how they’re going to sequel-ize this.”
Since Hudson and McConaughey both seem game, guess it’s just a matter of finding the right script!
As for the rest of the incredible cast — Kathryn Hahn, Annie Parisse, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, Michael Michele, Shalom Harlow — not much has been documented about how they might be feeling.
However, Hahn and Hudson reunited in 2022 for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, and the women have had nothing but glowing praise for one another.
“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was my first film, and that Kate was the lead of it was just such a mind-blowing experience for me,” Hahn told People in a 2023 interview. “So then to come full circle and be in this movie with her again, it’s just been so thrilling. And to see her heart has remained the same, I’m so moved by all of it.”
Hudson told The Hollywood Reporter that working with Hahn again was “the best,” referring to the two of them as “soul sisters.”
Something tells us this entire cast would be down to revisit the days of off-key renditions of “You’re So Vain” and Krull the Warrior King.
Refresher: What is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days about?
Based on Michele Alexander and Jeannie Long’s satirical stick-figure book of the same name, the movie centers on Hudson as Andie Anderson, an advice columnist for a magazine, and McConaughey as Benjamin Barry, a hotshot advertising exec.
To help a friend (Hahn) dodge an assignment, Andie pitches an article chronicling her efforts to “lose” a guy in 10 days doing all the cliche things women do in a relationship that tend to scare men off. Little does she know, Ben simultaneously takes a workplace bet that he can make a woman fall in love with him in 10 days. And since a huge account is riding on his success, he’s in it to win it.
Spoiler alert: This romcom has a happy ending that includes Andie and Ben riding off into the sunset on his motorcycle, their neglected love fern in tow.
What could a sequel be about?
Speaking with WWHL’s Cohen, Hudson shared what she wishes life would look like for her fictional counterpart these days. “My hope is that [Andie and Ben] are happy, they’ve got a bunch of kids, they got married, and they’re still playing Bullshit with his parents,” she said before acknowledging, “If there was a sequel, I’m sure there would be some conflict in there somewhere.”
For what it’s worth, the authors of How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days have two other books that could serve as inspiration: How to Get Over a Guy in 10 Days and How to Get a Guy in 10 Days.
Even if the stars don’t align for the OG cast to reprise their roles, this still feels like a film that deserves the reboot treatment. Or maybe we just throw the idea of a sequel out the window and go the remake route — in which case, our vote is for Glen Powell to become the new Ben.
If nothing else ever comes from the How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days world, though, fans could always just take a page straight out of Andie’s book and use Photoshop to composite an updated faux family album for the beloved nostalgic film.
