Steve Martin Has a Wild and Crazy Track Record with Sequels

Steve Martin has been popping up in movies for more than 40 years. And the actor has given fans some standout comic performances during his career. Even more impressively, Martin has often taken a creative role behind the scenes, writing many of his funniest movies. All of this with barely dipping into franchise territory. In fact, whenever Martin does make a sequel, it often doesn’t end particularly well in one way or another.

Steve Martin has rarely been a franchise guy

1979’s The Jerk made Martin a movie star. And just like that film — which Martin co-wrote — establishes the actor’s distinctive comedic voice, he’s continued to bring new characters to the screen. Throughout the 1980s, 1990s, and into the 2000s, Martin continued to star in and write hit movies like Three Amigos, L.A. Story, and Bowfinger.

On occasion, Martin has toyed with franchise material. He played the villain in 2003’s Looney Tunes: Back in Action. And he makes a memorable cameo in The Muppet Movie. But despite appearing in a ton of remakes and reboots, Martin rarely steps into sequel territory to his own movies. And when he has, it often leaves fans and critics at odds.

But the actor’s sequels are wildly inconsistent

Ironically, the three sequels Martin has made are all follow-ups to remakes. And the results with all three are very different. First, the actor starred in 1995’s Father of the Bride, Part 2. That movie earned mixed reviews from critics. Although far from Martin’s biggest hit, it did well commercially with a $77 million box office total, according to The-Numbers.com. The actor’s next sequel, 2005’s Cheaper by the Dozen 2, wasn’t quite so lucky.

That film stands as one of Martin’s most critically maligned movies, with a paltry 6 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it overcame poor reviews to still perform well in theaters. This wasn’t the case with the actor’s third and so far final sequel. 2009’s The Pink Panther 2 was a disaster on both fronts. The movie earned just $36 million in domestic theaters and received devastating reviews, with a score of just 13 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Steve Martin sequel that should still happen

Given Martin’s track record with sequels, it’s probably a good idea for him to steer clear. However, if he did go back and revisit one of his previous roles yet again, it’s clear which one is ripe for another installment. After all, Father of the Bride, Part 2 is the only of the three franchises he’s started that feels like it has unfinished business.

The 2020 short film Father of the Bride, Part 3(ish) was perhaps designed to satiate fans of that series. But if anything, it’s proven how smooth a transition it would be for Martin, Diane Keaton, and company to reunite. It even set up the perfect story, with Matty (Kieran Culkin) now engaged to be married.

Right now, there doesn’t appear to be any plans for a full-length Father of the Bride, Part 3. In fact, another remake/reboot of the series is in the works. But fans of Martin’s run still want to see him back as George Banks one more time, though it looks unlikely.