Anna Faris Teases 'House Bunny' Sequel Idea

The actress reflected on her 'life-changing' role in the 2008 comedy and said she has an idea for a 'House Bunny 2' that would see Shelley become a CIA interrogator.

By Allison Schonter

Anna Faris "would love" to step back into the role of retired Playboy-bunny-turned-sorority-house-mom Shelley Darlingson in a The House Bunny sequel. In a new interview with PEOPLE ahead of the release of her upcoming film, My Spy the Eternal City, the actress opened up about the "life-changing" role, even revealing that she has an idea for The House Bunny 2.

"I always dream," Faris told the outlet of her wish to return to the role. Although the actress said she initially believed "Shelley should be a bad country singer," she said that she recently began "thinking, no, she should be a CIA interrogator. Her skill is disarming people because she is perceived, and she is, as so open and nonjudgmental. So I was imagining Shelley saying, 'Oh, what do I do for work? I'm a CIA interrogator.'"

On the possibility of a sequel to the 2008 film, Faris added, "Let's write a script. I would love that."

Produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison Productions and directed by Fred Wolf, The House Bunny hit theaters in August 2022 and starred Faris as a Playboy Bunny who, at 27, is deemed too old to be a Bunny. Kicked out of Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion, she signs up to be the "house mother" of Zeta Alpha Zeta, an unpopular university sorority made up of awkward girls. The film also starred Emma Stone, Kat Dennings, and Rumer Willis.

Although The House Bunny wasn't well-received by critics – carrying a 43% Rotten Tomatoes rating and a 50% audience score, making it certified rotten – the movie was a box office success and has since risen to achieve cult classic status. Fans have eagerly been awaiting a sequel, with Faris teasing a potential follow-up movie when speaking with PopCulture.com in 2019.

"Oh, man. I would love to (make a new House Bunny movie)," the actress said. "It's such a huge compliment to me that that movie has found sort of this afterlife. I get people in a grocery store like coming up to me and speaking to me in a gravelly voice. I mean, that movie was such a passion project for me, and I can't believe that we made it, and I can't believe that people still really love it."

At the time, Faris added that she would "love to play Shelley again," sharing that she "always imagined that Shelley was like a country singer – like not a great country singer – in Nashville working at a bar."

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While there are currently no concrete plans for The House Bunny 2 – Faris said in 2019 that she didn't "know if anybody's putting up the money" for a sequel – the role of Shelley will always remain close to Faris' heart. The actress told PEOPLE that playing Shelley was "a life-changing role," adding, "Fundamentally, career stuff aside, playing a character that had so much compassion and lack of judgment, a character who really led with her heart... it sounds really corny, but I think it made me feel like it was easier to make friends in a weird way."

The House Bunny is currently available to stream on Netflix.

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