Triplets, the long-awaited sequel to the 1988 comedy Twins starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito, is finally getting off the ground. The two stars and director/producer Ivan Reitman hired former 30 Rock actor Tracy Morgan to play the third sibling. The project is set to start filming in Boston in January, reports Deadline. CAA Media Finance is representing North American sales for the project, which hit the Toronto Film Festival market earlier this week.
Twins hit theaters in December 1988 and starred Schwarzenegger and DeVito as Julius and Vincent Benedict, unlikely twins who were separated at birth. The movie was a massive hit for Universal Pictures, making over $216.6 million worldwide on a budget of just $18 million. Universal is not involved in the sequel though, as the studio lost sequel rights if Triplets was not made within a specific time, Reitman told Deadline. “In terms of future rights, Universal had very restrictive secondary rights in terms of sequels. They had to act on it very quickly, which they didn’t because we hadn’t really developed it,” Reitman explained.
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As for the premise behind Triplets, Reitman said Vincent and Julius will learn that there is a third baby who has not been in communication with his siblings. “They don’t know each other and very early in the movie they meet and it’s how they achieve a bond together after all these years. It’s really a film about family and, no matter how different we all are, we have to learn to get along,” the Ghostbusters director explained. “These guys have great chemistry together, and you can see that in the reel, and how much energy they bring out in each other.”
The idea for Triplets dates back to 2012 when Universal announced that Eddie Murphy would play the long-lost brother. By the time the project finally got moving, Murphy got busy with projects like Coming 2 America and Dolemite Is My Name, so he was unavailable. Morgan was cast as Murphy’s replacement.
It’s not clear if Reitman plans on directing Triplets, but he said Schwarzenegger is trying to get him back in the director’s chair. “I haven’t directed in a couple years, but Arnold kept saying, ‘c’mon, we had such a great time,’” Reitman said. “I just called him in Budapest and he’s so excited to see how people respond to the reel as we send it out. The initial reaction has been very strong, and how young Arnold and Danny look and how great the chemistry is with Tracy. I had a great time doing the first one, and this is going to be fun.”
Reitman recently produced Ghostbusters: Afterlife, which was directed by his son, Jason Reitman, and opens on Nov. 19. Reitman’s last directing effort was Draft Day, which hit theaters in 2014. Schwarzenegger recently starred in Terminator: Dark Fate, while DeVito continues starring in It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. As for Morgan, he recently starred in Coming 2 America with Murphy. ย
