After breaking out in “Transformers,” Megan Fox has dabbled quite a bit in the horror and science fiction realms. “Till Death,” “Night Teeth” and “Subservience” are among her criminally overlooked offerings in recent years. Of course, her biggest horror performance is still as Jennifer Check in Karyn Kusama’s 2009 cult classic, “Jennifer’s Body,” written by Diablo Cody.
Upon initial release, critics raked the coming-of-age demon flick over the coals. In fact, the Rotten Tomatoes score still sits at a paltry 47 percent. However, it’s taken on a new life in the 17 years since then and has become one of the most revered horror films among diehard fans. In the era of reboots and sequels to horror’s most well-known IPs, “Jennifer’s Body” is getting in on the action with a sequel, which sees the creative team of Cody and Kusama returning.
Megan Fox Will Return in ‘Jennifer’s Body 2’
Thankfully, fans can breathe a sigh of relief as Megan Fox has been confirmed to reprise her role in the forthcoming sequel, as initially reported by Dread Central. There has yet to be any news on whether Amanda Seyfried will return as Needy, Jennifer Check’s nerdy best friend. It’s hard to imagine she won’t, considering how the first film ended with Needy in a psychiatric ward and left so many loose ends.
Previously, Seyfried expressed her excitement over a sequel. “You know, I’m looking forward to the sequel,” she said. “They’re working on it. I already said thumbs up. I was like, whenever you’re ready, I’m ready. We all just had a lot of fun, so I wanna celebrate it by doing a sequel.”
“Jennifer’s Body” tells the story of two high school friends, Needy and Jennifer, when they attend a show of popular rock band Low Shoulder, led by Adam Brody. After being lured into their van, a botched sacrificial ritual results in Jennifer turning into a succubus with a thirst for eating guys. Jennifer turns her eyes toward two of Needy’s male friends, including Kyle Gallner’s Colin Gray. It’s only when she’s hungry and weak that she can be defeated.
Diablo Cody Isn’t ‘Done’ with ‘Jennifer’s Body’
In a January 2024 interview, the “Jennifer’s Body” scriptwriter said she was “not done with Jennifer’s Body. I need to partner with people who believe in it as much as I do, and that hasn’t really happened yet,” she told Bloody Disgusting. “I need someone to believe in it who has a billion dollars.”
On a $16 million budget, the 2009 original film grossed $16 million domestically and $31 million globally. Despite Fox’s name, it didn’t connect to a wide audience at the time. “It was a critical, commercial failure. I was pretty humiliated to be perfectly honest with you,” Cody lamented. “It was a rough experience having that movie come out. It was rough for me, it was rough for Megan… [then] people started suddenly talking about it like it was a good movie, which I had thought all along.”
“Some people who maybe didn’t appreciate it at the time have come around, and now I’m just like, there’s no saltiness, now I’m just happy,” she added.
What the story of “Jennifer’s Body 2” could be is anyone’s guess. Given the film’s now-built-in audience, it will surely be a much bigger financial splash than the first film. It will begin production this fall in Vancouver.
