Bette Midler confirms there is no 'First Wives Club 2' for 'political reasons'

Bette Midler finally reveals why 'The First Wives Club' didn't get a second chance.

The classic 1996 film starred Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn as a trio of abandoned women who seek revenge on their respective ex-spouses. Midler's "Hocus Pocus 2" co-star Sarah Jessica Parker played the mistress that Midler's husband (Dan Hedaya) cheated on in the film.

Stockard Channing, Maggie Smith, Rob Reiner, Marcia Gay Harden, Victor Garberm Timothy Olyphant, J.K. Simmons, Jon Stewart and Gloria Steinem also starred. Based on the 1992 novel by Olivia Goldsmith, the Hugh Wilson-directed comedy has grossed $180 million at the worldwide box office. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Music.

Now, over 25 years later, Midler has explained why the studio didn't greenlight a sequel.

"I used to lobby for 'First Wives Club 2', but there were political reasons why they didn't want to do it again. And it always broke my heart," said Midler: "I really felt like it was a pretty serious argument, because when women have hits, it's a fluke. But when men have hits, isn't it great? At least that's what they told us in "First Wives".
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Co-star Hawn previously said in 2009 that Paramount Pictures would pay Keaton, Hawn and Midler the same salary as the first film for a sequel, despite the film's success.

"Diane [Keaton] called me and said, 'We have to do this,'" Hawn said at the time of the follow-up. "I got a call from the head of the studio who said, 'Let's try to make it work'. But I think we should all do it for the same amount of money. Now, if he If there were three men coming back to do a sequel, they would have paid them at least three times their salary."

Hawn, Midler, and Keaton were attached to the 2020 film "Family Jewels" (via Variety) to mark a kind of "First Wives Club" reunion about three women who were all both married to the same man but become friends after his death.

Meanwhile, "The First Wives Club" TV show aired on BET+ with Michelle Buteau, Jill Scott and Ryan Michelle Bathe as the main trio. The series premiered in 2019 and has been renewed for a third season.

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Bette Midler confirms there is no 'First Wives Club 2' for 'political reasons'

Bette Midler finally reveals why 'The First Wives Club' didn't get a second chance.

The classic 1996 film starred Midler, Diane Keaton and Goldie Hawn as a trio of abandoned women who seek revenge on their respective ex-spouses. Midler's "Hocus Pocus 2" co-star Sarah Jessica Parker played the mistress that Midler's husband (Dan Hedaya) cheated on in the film.

Stockard Channing, Maggie Smith, Rob Reiner, Marcia Gay Harden, Victor Garberm Timothy Olyphant, J.K. Simmons, Jon Stewart and Gloria Steinem also starred. Based on the 1992 novel by Olivia Goldsmith, the Hugh Wilson-directed comedy has grossed $180 million at the worldwide box office. It was nominated for the Oscar for Best Music.

Now, over 25 years later, Midler has explained why the studio didn't greenlight a sequel.

"I used to lobby for 'First Wives Club 2', but there were political reasons why they didn't want to do it again. And it always broke my heart," said Midler: "I really felt like it was a pretty serious argument, because when women have hits, it's a fluke. But when men have hits, isn't it great? At least that's what they told us in "First Wives".

Related Related

Co-star Hawn previously said in 2009 that Paramount Pictures would pay Keaton, Hawn and Midler the same salary as the first film for a sequel, despite the film's success.

"Diane [Keaton] called me and said, 'We have to do this,'" Hawn said at the time of the follow-up. "I got a call from the head of the studio who said, 'Let's try to make it work'. But I think we should all do it for the same amount of money. Now, if he If there were three men coming back to do a sequel, they would have paid them at least three times their salary."

Hawn, Midler, and Keaton were attached to the 2020 film "Family Jewels" (via Variety) to mark a kind of "First Wives Club" reunion about three women who were all both married to the same man but become friends after his death.

Meanwhile, "The First Wives Club" TV show aired on BET+ with Michelle Buteau, Jill Scott and Ryan Michelle Bathe as the main trio. The series premiered in 2019 and has been renewed for a third season.