The rom-com that turned bad dating advice into a love story may be getting another chapter.
Twenty-three years after Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry turned manipulation, ridiculous bets and a strategically placed love fern into one of the most recognizable romantic comedies of the early 2000s, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days is officially heading back into development.
Paramount is working on a sequel to the 2003 fan-favorite, with original star Kate Hudson attached to producing and the studio hoping to bring Hudson and Matthew McConaughey back as the endlessly entertaining duo at the center of the original film.
The project remains in its early stages, meaning a screenwriter, additional cast members and several key creative positions have yet to be finalized. Still, the intention to reunite Hudson and McConaughey is enough to get rom-com fans paying attention. And honestly, if we’re bringing back How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, who else would we want playing Andie and Ben?
The Rom-Com Is Calling Andie Anderson Back
Directed by Donald Petrie, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days followed magazine writer Andie Anderson as she attempted to prove that she could drive a man away in—yep—just 10 days for an article. Enter Benjamin Barry, an advertising executive who makes a bet of his own: he believes he can make any woman fall in love with him.
Naturally, the two unknowingly choose each other. What follows is a hilarious battle of manipulation, increasingly questionable relationship decisions and some of the most memorable rom-com moments of the era. And then, somewhere between the sabotage and the emotional chaos, they actually fall in love. Classic.
The original also featured Kathryn Hahn, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, Michael Michele and Shalom Harlow, while becoming a legitimate box-office success. The film earned nearly $180 million worldwide against a reported $50 million budget and has since cemented itself as one of the defining romantic comedies of its generation. Now Hollywood wants another shot at the formula.
And Yes, Matthew McConaughey Could Be Back Too
Hudson’s involvement behind the scenes makes a potential return in front of the camera especially interesting. The actress has continued expanding her career beyond acting, while her film résumé includes her Oscar-nominated performance as Penny Lane in Almost Famous and her more recent work in Song Sung Blue. She’s also leading Netflix’s sports comedy series Running Point.
But Andie Anderson remains one of those roles audiences immediately associate with her. McConaughey, meanwhile, was practically the king of the romantic-comedy era. Before dramatically shifting his career toward heavier material, the Oscar winner became synonymous with the genre through movies including The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past.
Then came the McConaissance. Dallas Buyers Club earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor, while films including Mud, The Wolf of Wall Street and Interstellar helped establish a very different side of the actor.
He has since largely stayed away from the rom-com territory that once defined part of his career. That’s what makes a potential reunion with Hudson so interesting.
McConaughey has previously referred to How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days as an “anchor” of the romantic-comedy genre, and bringing him back alongside Hudson would instantly give the sequel a connection to the movie audiences already fell in love with.
Hollywood Wants Its Y2K Era Back
The timing isn’t exactly accidental. Hollywood has been leaning heavily into nostalgia, particularly when it comes to properties that defined the late ’90s and early 2000s.
Sequels to The Devil Wears Prada, Scary Movie and Toy Story have helped demonstrate that audiences remain interested in familiar franchises, while Practical Magic 2, Focker-In-Law, Shrek 5 and other legacy projects continue the trend.
But How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days occupies a slightly different space. It’s not a superhero franchise. It’s not an animated property. It’s not an action blockbuster. It’s a rom-com. A genre that has spent years trying to reclaim the cultural real estate it once dominated.
And Andie and Ben are exactly the kind of characters who could make that nostalgia feel personal rather than purely commercial. The question is what happens next.
So… What Would How to Lose a Guy 2 Actually Be About?
That’s the biggest mystery right now. No official plot details have been revealed, and because the project is still searching for a screenwriter, the story will likely depend heavily on the direction the eventual script takes.
Would Andie and Ben still be together? Would we see them navigating marriage, children and adulthood? Could the original premise be flipped entirely? Or could the sequel introduce an entirely new dating disaster while allowing Hudson and McConaughey to return in some capacity?
There are plenty of possibilities. And that’s exactly why the screenplay matters. The original movie worked because the premise was simple enough to understand immediately but chaotic enough to keep audiences invested. Recreating that magic without simply repeating the same joke for two hours will be the challenge.
But there’s one thing the sequel already has working in its favor: The chemistry. If Hudson and McConaughey officially return, audiences won’t have to be introduced to Andie and Ben all over again. They’ll already know the history, the personalities and the ridiculousness that made the pairing work.
Now the question becomes whether Hollywood can give them a new reason to fall in or completely out of love. For now, How to Lose a Guy 2 is still in the development stage, with no release date or finalized cast announced. But after more than two decades, Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry may finally be getting another date.
