The first trailer for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel sequel, aptly titled The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, has arrived online courtesy of The Daily Mail (via Collider). Directed once more by John Madden, the film picks up after the events of the 2011 movie with a touch of franchise expansion in every sense of the word.
As expected, Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Penelope Wilton and Celia Imrie all reprise their roles from the first outing, along with Dev Patel as the eager Sonny. This time around, the keen entrepreneur has his heart set on turning his rustic accommodations into a chain of hotels.
One of the key components to sequel success is, of course, the addition of fresh meat! So, there’s a couple of new names thrown in to spice up proceedings in the shape of Richard Gere, Tamsin Greig and David Strathairn.
It’s hard to not find this type of movie fun, purely because of the acting talent involved. With the likes of Smith, Dench, Nighy, Wilton and Imrie all back in the saddle, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel looks poised for a slew of repeat business when it opens in cinemas on March 6th, 2015.
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2 is the expansionist dream of Sonny (Dev Patel), and it’s making more claims on his time than he has available, considering his imminent marriage to the love of his life, Sunaina (Tena Desae). Sonny has his eye on a promising property now that his first venture, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel for the Elderly and Beautiful, has only a single remaining vacancy – posing a rooming predicament for fresh arrivals Guy (Richard Gere) and Lavinia (Tamsin Greig).
Evelyn and Douglas (Judi Dench and Bill Nighy) have now joined the Jaipur workforce, and are wondering where their regular dates for Chilla pancakes will lead, while Norman and Carol (Ronald Pickup and Diana Hardcastle) are negotiating the tricky waters of an exclusive relationship, as Madge (Celia Imrie) juggles two eligible and very wealthy suitors. Perhaps the only one who may know the answers is newly installed co-manager of the hotel, Muriel (Maggie Smith), the keeper of everyone’s secrets. As the demands of a traditional Indian wedding threaten to engulf them all, an unexpected way forward presents itself.