The 2013 comic book adaptation R.I.P.D. starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges is not exactly fondly remembered by either critics or audiences, but that has apparently not stopped a sequel from forging ahead in secret. According to a new MPA listing (via Bloody Disgusting), a follow-up titled R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned is coming. Whether we want it to or not.
Universal has not announced the mysterious new project through any media outlets as yet, and it is not known who will star, direct, or anything else that’s needed to get a movie made, but it seems that R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned will PG-13. Coming from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment, R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned has been given the rating for “sequences of violence, language, disturbing images, and some crude/sexual references.” So that’s something.
Word that it’s coming courtesy of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment suggests that R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned will be sent straight to people’s televisions at home, no doubt through a streaming platform, making it unlikely that either Ryan Reynolds or Jeff Bridges will return for more ghost-hunting action.
Nevertheless, this largely forgotten member of the comic book movie genre is being resurrected. Perhaps R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned will breathe new life into this potential franchise...
The First R.I.P.D. Finds Ryan Reynolds & Jeff Bridges Working for the Rest in Peace Department
Released back in 2013, R.I.P.D.: Rest in Peace Department, or simply R.I.P.D., is a supernatural action comedy film headlined by Jeff Bridges and Ryan Reynolds. Falling somewhere between Men in Black and Ghostbusters, R.I.P.D. follows begins when Reynolds’ Nick Walker, a detective who used to work for the Boston Police Department, finds himself deceased and enlisted by the Rest in Peace Department, a legendary undead police force charged with finding monstrous spirits who are disguised as ordinary people but are trying to avoid their final judgment by hiding out among the living.
He is partnered with veteran lawman Roy Pulsifer, played by a game Jeff Bridges, and the mismatched pair soon uncover a plot that could end all life. Together, they must discover a way to restore the cosmic balance or else watch the tunnel to the afterlife start sending angry souls back to the world of the living.
Directed by Robert Schwentke and written by Phil Hay and Matt Manfredi, and based on the 1999 comic book R.I.P.D. by Peter M. Lenkov, the adaptation stars Kevin Bacon, Mary-Louise Parker, Stéphanie Szostak, and Marisa Miller alongside Reynolds and Bridges.
Why the news of a sequel is so strange is because R.I.P.D. was a major box-office bomb, grossing $78 million on a $130 million budget. But maybe R.I.P.D.’s financial failings don’t reflect the quality of the movie, right? Wrong, as R.I.P.D. was met with viciously negative reviews from both audiences and critics alike. The comic book outing currently sits at just 12% on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 38% audience score, and has gained a mere 5.6/10 on IMDb.
Has R.I.P.D. 2: Rise of the Damned found a better way to tell this tale of ghost-hunting cops? Well, it couldn’t really get much worse.