Speculation is rife that a sequel to Pretty Woman is officially happening, 35 years after the original’s release.
Starring Julia Roberts and Richard Gere, the romantic comedy first hit cinemas in 1990 and went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time, raking in a staggering $463.4million (£349.9m) worldwide.
Its plot follows Hollywood escort Vivian Ward (Roberts), who is hired by wealthy entrepreneur Edward Lewis (Gere) for several business and social functions.
Their relationship develops during her week-long stay with him, but while they fall for one another, they must also navigate hurdles and bridge the gap between their starkly different worlds if they want to make it work.
Roberts, now 57, was 22 at the time of filming, while 71-year-old Gere was 40 when he played the billionaire businessman.
In the years since, Pretty Woman has been regarded highly by fans, so it’s understandable why there’d be disappointment when posters seemingly promoting a sequel for Netflix turned out to be fake.
The AI posters began circulating earlier this year with the tagline, ‘A second chance’; however, it transpired that they were merely generated by an overly enthusiastic fan.
But now we have been given fresh hope, as lead stars Roberts and Gere are ‘in talks’ with Disney bosses to reprise their characters.
An insider told The Mirror: ‘No contracts have been signed yet, but an early script is being worked on, and barring any unforeseen problems, both Richard and Julia are on board.
‘Pretty Woman 2 appears to be on.’
The latest whispers sing to a different tune of Roberts’ previous comments, as she once admitted Pretty Woman couldn’t be made in modern times.
Speaking to The Guardian’s G2, she said: ‘I don’t think you could make that movie now, right?
‘So many things you could poke a hole in, but I don’t think it takes away from people being able to enjoy it.’
She added: ‘It really is not a measure of talent, particularly in the beginning. It’s a measure of good fortune – and being able to have your wits about you enough to make something out of that good fortune.’
As for Gere, he once spoke incredibly harshly of the job.
In fact, in 2012, he called it his ‘least favourite thing’, admitting he’s largely forgotten his experiences working on it.
Still, he can’t escape being asked about the rom-com, as you’d expect.
‘People ask me about that movie, but I’ve forgotten it,’ the actor said.
Promoting his film Arbitrage at the time, he added: ‘Arbitrage is a much more serious movie that has some real cause and effect.’
Gere went on to express discomfort with Pretty Woman’s plot and how it has aged, given the depiction of a power imbalance between a sex worker and a business mogul.
‘It made those guys seem dashing, which was so wrong,’ said Gere. ‘Thankfully, today, we are all more sceptical of those guys.’
Then, in 2024, Gere was shown a clip of Pretty Woman’s steamy piano scene at the Venice Film Festival, telling the blushing audience: ‘I haven’t seen that in a long time. That’s a sexy scene.’
He went on to joke about having ‘no chemistry’ with Roberts at the time, adding his belief that his character was ‘criminally underwritten’.
‘It was basically a suit and a good haircut.’
Gere wasn’t always the first choice for the role of Edward, though, as the late Sean Connery was also considered, as were Al Pacino and Burt Reynolds.
It’s claimed Pacino, 84, turned down the part after feeling he wasn’t ‘the right actor for it’ after a screen test with Roberts, while Burt, who died in 2018, said simply that he was an ‘idiot’ for also saying no.
As for what a Pretty Woman 2 script might look like, it’s very clearly early days, but Roberts herself has already mused over what she thinks the characters are doing now.
‘I think he passed away peacefully in his sleep from a heart attack, smiling,’ she said in 2023. ‘And now she runs his business.’
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