Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick are Set to Star in New Sequel ‘Another Simple Favor’
Award winning actresses Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively are set to star in the sequel to their 2018 hit, ‘A Simple Favor.’ The second movie is titled ‘Another Simple Favor,’ and will be premiering at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas next month.
“We have Another Simple Favor to ask you,” says the film’s Instagram page in the caption of their Instagram post. “Can you save the date?”
Kendrick starred alongside Gossip Girl star, Blake Lively, in the 2018 drama ‘A Simple Favor.” In the film and upcoming sequel, Kendrick plays a single busybody mom with a parenting vlog. She befriends Lively’s character, Stephanie, whose child attends the same school as hers. Much like her role as ‘Serena Vanderwoodson’ in Gossip Girl, Stephanie is mysterious, and has secrets she is hiding. When Stephanie goes missing, Emily takes it upon herself to track her down, in this exciting comedy thriller.
Continuing the whirlwind of events, the upcoming sequel will have Emily and Stephanie heading to Capri, Italy, to celebrate Emily’s wedding to her newfound fiancé, who is a rich Italian businessman.
Kendrick is coming off of her directorial debut, where she directed and starred in the 2023 film, Woman of the Hour. This film is centered around the real-life story of serial killer Rodney Alcala. Kendrick portrays the character, Cheryl Bradshaw, who meets Alcala on reality TV show, ‘The Dating Game.’ As Bradshaw gets to know Alcala more, she realizes how uncomfortable he makes her feel, to later discover his past crimes he’s done against women. The story revolves around power dynamics between men and women, and uncovers reasons as to why Alcala has been getting away with his actions for years leading up to their meeting.
Kendrick did an interview with popular podcast “Crime Junkie AF” in 2024, about her decision to donate the profits made from the film to charities such as RAINN and the National Center for Victims of Crime. She says, “It felt like the least I could do, given the subject of the film.”
Lively on the other hand, is coming off of her role as Lily Bloom in the popular movie, It Ends with Us. Based on the novel by Colleen Hoover, It Ends With Us follows Bloom, as she navigates a toxic relationship with a man she meets in Boston named Ryle, who is portrayed by Justin Baldoni. Bloom continues to navigate her feelings when her first love, Atlas Corrigan, reenters her life, allowing her to reconnect with her past.
However, tensions on set arose between Lively and her costar, Baldoni, due to creative differences within the film. Accusations included Lively allegedly being overly involved with the direction and script of the film, and not promoting the film’s awareness towards abusive relationships. Baldoni was accused of harassment, and creating a toxic work environment for Lively, leading both actors to file lawsuits against one another, due to the multiple conflicts.
Due to this, ‘Another Simple Favor’ experienced some backlash when releasing their premiere details. However, ‘Another Simple Favor’ director Paul Feig, came to Lively’s defense in response to a social media comment and said, “Blake has been nothing but supportive and a dream to work with… “She is the best and an amazing collaborator and I’m her biggest fan. Just wanted to clear that up.”
Following ‘Another Simple Favor’s’ premiere at SXSW, the film will be available to stream on Prime Video on May 1st, 2025.
