Hollywood A-listers Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston reprise their roles as Nick and Audrey Spitz in Murder Mystery 2, the sequel to the 2019 hit comedy mystery that just hit Netflix on March 31, but the real mystery is hidden in the movie’s credits.
As intriguing as the plot of Murder Mystery 2 is, director Jeremy Garelick has quite a lot to say on the subject of the movie’s varied aspects in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Garelick — whose filmography includes The Wedding Ringer, The Binge, and The Break-Up, to name a few — shared his experience of working with Sandler and Anniston, which he regarded as “awesome.” He explained:
“I’ve worked with Jennifer before on a movie called The Break-Up. She’s just awesome — and Adam. They’re so professional; they’re so quick. Adam is such a perfectionist. He worked so hard. He’ll outwork everybody, and he’ll stay on set, even when he’s done shooting, to give notes. He’s a filmmaker, and I just learned so much from him and Jen. It was film school with two of the greatest teachers of all time.”
While Garelick obviously knows both Sandler and Anniston extremely well, there is one name involved in his film that has earned the director’s confusion. This is none other than Charlize Theron, as the Oscar-winning actress doesn’t appear anywhere on screen in the sequel and yet she serves as one of its executive producers. When asked for the reason behind choosing Theron as an EP on the project, Garelick gave the following honest reply:
“To be honest, I don’t really know. I saw her credit right before we locked the movie. I’m like, “Oh, wow! Charlize is — This is awesome… Maybe she’ll be a villain in the next one.”
Whether there will be a Murder Mystery 3 remains to be seen. While its expectedly ample viewing figures will likely cause celebrations at Netflix, reviews for the sequel have been rather harsh, as its Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes attests to. Still, Theron’s presence in a third film would no doubt give it a boost.