Pineapple Express was released at a time when Judd Apatow's ‘Frat Pack' was at the height of their box office success, and in the twelve years since its release, it has earned a cult following and is almost considered required viewing for those interested in the same types of recreational activities as the majority of the characters.
Pineapple Express was one of
Seth Rogen‘s most successful films, grossing over $101 million worldwide on a $27 million budget. So you'd think Sony Pictures would have been salivating at the bit to start working on a sequel. Well, the studio was interested in filming Pineapple Express 2 at one time, but in one of those reminders that the movie business is more about the money than the movie, Sony baulked at producer Judd Apatow's budget proposal.
A Brief About the history of Pineapple Express 2
Pineapple Express is a 2008 American stoner comedy film directed by David Gordon Green and starring Seth Rogen and James Franco. It was written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by David Gordon Green. After seeing hitmen and a dishonest police officer commit a murder, a process server and his marijuana dealer are forced to run from hitmen and a corrupt police officer. The storey was developed with the help of producer Judd Apatow, who previously collaborated with Rogen and Goldberg on the films Knocked Up and Superbad.
At 1937, a soldier in an underground military facility is spotted using marijuana and exposing everything he despises about the army through a two-way mirror. The experiment is shut down by a high-ranking official, who declares marijuana to be unlawful. Dale Denton, a process server and marijuana lover, pays a visit to his drug supplier, Saul, seventy-one years later. Before Dale returns to work, he and Saul share a joint of the uncommon “Pineapple Express” strain.
When he gets at Ted Jones' house, he sees Ted and officer Carol Brazier shoot and murder an Asian guy. Dale tosses his roach with Pineapple Express, which Ted recognises, and he dispatches his minions Budlofsky and Matheson to Red, a drug dealer who informs them about Saul.
Dale discovers Ted is a local drug kingpin and that he could track down the roach since only Red and Saul had the Pineapple Express strain. Dale and Saul make the decision to depart the city. They try to hide in the woods, but Dale's vehicle battery runs out.
After a scuffle, Red discloses to Dale and Saul that Ted knows who they are and plans to murder them. Red is tortured for information by Budlofsky and Matheson, who both shoot him in the abdomen. He and Saul go to Angie's house, where they are removed at gunpoint by her father, believing that his high-schooler lover Angie is in danger. Angie's family travels to a motel after Budlofsky and Matheson arrive at the house, but Dale and Saul flee before they can be apprehended.
What about Pineapple Express 2?
Rogen, Goldberg, and Apatow were interested in producing a sequel due to the film's financial success and cult following. The project was never completed, with Rogen admitting, “I think we definitely sought too much money” (Apatow estimated a sequel would cost $50 million, with Sony putting a ceiling of $45 million).
As an April Fool's Day joke, Sony produced a bogus trailer for Pineapple Express 2 to promote Rogen's 2013 picture This Is the End, which also stars Franco, Robinson, and McBride. The manufactured Pineapple Express 2 film in This Is the End, according to Rogen and Goldberg, shows what they anticipate for the true sequel.
Sequels, especially comedy sequels, seldom generate more money than their predecessors. As a result, Sony was understandably anxious about spending twice as much on Pineapple Express 2. However, in the great scheme of Hollywood budgets, $5 million does not appear to be enough to break the bank for a film of that calibre. They could easily generate $5 million through a cross-promotion in which marijuana shops sell an official Pineapple Express strain.
Wrapping Up
While fans will undoubtedly be excited to watch it, the majority of the cast members from the original film have their own busy schedules. For the time being, director Gordon Green and supporting actor Danny McBride will be busy with the Halloween franchise and HBO's The Righteous Gemstones, while Rogen and co-writer Evan Goldberg always seem to have multiple projects in the works, and James Franco's prolific output appears to have slowed in recent years.
