What the hell is the deal with Spice World 2?
Grab those platforms and dig out your hair crimpers, because the Spice Girls are back together and they’re making another movie. It’s like the millennium never even happened.
Following years of speculation and false hope, four of the original five members – Melanie Brown, Melanie Chisholm, Emma Bunton and Geri Halliwell, aka Scary, Sporty, Baby and Ginger – made every 90s kid’s dream come true by announcing a series of reunion concerts.
And now another dose of collective nostalgia has been delivered with news that the girls are working on another film – and even Victoria Beckham’s on board.
Spice World 2 movie: How's this going to work?
Paramount Animation president Mireille Soria confirmed the Spice World follow-up to The Hollywood Reporter, revealing that Simon Fuller is producing and Legally Blonde scribes Karen McCullah and Kiwi Smith are on writing duties.
According to Soria, the Spice Girls “had an idea that we've been developing,” adding that “they are very involved.”
We know what you’re thinking… It’s been so long since Spice World (22 years, in fact), will a new film even work? After all, the key to the original's box-office success was that it rode on the coattails of the pop quintet’s worldwide popularity.
Many years have passed since then and the group's original fans are all grown up now. They might be up for a one-off concert for sentimentality’s sake, but do they really, really, really wanna Spice World 2?
These are all factors Paramount has thought about. Although the film will take audiences back to the era with some of the band’s original hits, a series of bespoke tracks and an entirely new format are just a couple of the reasons to suggest the feature is more than just a cash-in on '90s nostalgia.
Most notably, the currently untitled movie will be an animation rather than a live-action film, with the singers voicing characters presented as superheroes. Given the ever-rising success of this genre, it only makes sense for Paramount to tap into the market.
Spice Girls do the MCU? Not quite.
As said, it’s a far cry from Bob Spiers’ beloved Spice World, which drew $151 million at the box office from a $25 million budget. The plot followed the girls as they navigated fame and friendship and embarked on a series of adventures across London while climbing their way to the top.
Spice World 2 plot: what's it all about?
The original co-starred the likes of Alan Cumming and Richard E Grant, who brought a solid dose of British eccentricity to their roles as stalker and band manager respectively. Time will tell if their animated avatars make an appearance in the (kinda) sequel too.
Same goes for the plot, which is something Paramount and the Spice Girls are yet to map out. There are countless ways the story could go now that everyone’s on board, particularly since the animated format opens up a world of possibilities.
Will they embark on another double decker adventure? Will they end up in another dance camp? And will Posh ever decide which little Gucci dress to wear?
One thing’s for sure, if those aliens make a return, they definitely won’t get away with groping Mel B and coercing Geri into a kiss (one of the number of scenes that hasn’t aged well).
On the contrary, the film itself, while containing problematic scenes due to the era it was created in, was overall one that championed female power and friendship and promoted women supporting women just like their first hit single ‘Wannabe’.
As was pointed out by Vulture, in light of the #MeToo movement, Spice World is refreshing in its core message.
“The plot of Spice World, weakly Scotch-taped together as it may be, finds the band repeatedly trying to escape from men’s schemes that range from opportunist to downright evil…
“Perhaps in a time when critics and audiences had developed (a little) more appreciation for the importance of stories about women just trying to live their lives without bad men interfering, it may have fared better.”
This opportunity is now on the table thanks to the Spice World follow-up. This doesn’t mean we’re expecting a high-brow feminist manifesto. But certainly the film could offer some similar sentiments on the importance of female friendship, power and self-love in an updated setting.
Keep your eye on this post as and when more information about the movie arrives. Looks like we don’t have too long to wait, as Fuller revealed that they’ll be working on the film as soon as the UK reunion tour ends, with hopes to have it out by next year. Until then, hang on to your knickers.
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