Marlon Wayans Doesn’t Want a ‘White Chicks’ Sequel: ‘I’m Doing Black Man Movies’
White Chicks fans have been longing for a sequel. But actor Marlon Wayans says he isn’t quite ready to reprise his role from the 2004 comedy. He recently revealed why he prefers doing “Black man” movies.
Marlon Wayans and his brother Shawn Wayans wrote and starred in ‘White Chicks’
The Wayans family created several comedies in the ’90s and 2000s, including hits such as In Living Color and The Wayans Bros. After the success of their Scary Movie films, brothers Marlon and Shawn wrote and starred in White Chicks. Their brother Keenen Ivory Wayans co-wrote and directed the film.
In the 2004 movie, Shawn and Marlon Wayans portray siblings Kevin and Marcus Copeland — FBI agents who go undercover as blond socialites to foil a kidnapping. Their co-stars include Busy Phillips, Terry Crews, Jaime King, and Jennifer Carpenter.
The film received mostly negative critical reviews but performed well at the box office. Made on an estimated $37 million budget, White Chicks earned over $113 million globally.
Why doesn’t Marlon Wayans want to make a ‘White Chicks’ sequel?
Fans have been asking the Wayans about a White Chicks sequel for years. But in a recent GQ interview, Marlon Wayans noted that long workdays and makeup processes made the original challenging to film.
“That movie almost killed us,” the actor recalled. “Seven hours of makeup. We’d work 14 hours after that. It takes an hour to take the makeup off. Shawn and I would get two hours sleep for like 65 days … Anything where I didn’t have to get in that white-chick makeup was a great scene.”
The tedious makeup process seems to be the only thing holding Marlon Wayans back. He suggested he might be game for a White Chicks follow-up if editors could use computer-generated imagery (CGI) for his transformation.
“Makeup movies, until they learn how to digitally do it, special effects–wise, that’s a lot of work,” Wayans added. “Everybody’s like, ‘Do a White Chicks 2.’ I’m like, ‘F*** yourself. You do a White Chicks 2. I’m doing Black man movies.'”
In 2021, he thought a sequel was necessary
Marlon Wayans might not want to get back into the makeup chair for a White Chicks sequel. But he thinks making one is important for the cultural climate.
“I think White Chicks 2 is necessary,” Marlon told Variety in 2021. “I think we’ve tightened up so much that we need to loosen our ties a bit and laugh a little bit.
“I don’t think Hollywood understands what a juggernaut White Chicks 2 would be,” he added, revealing how many story ideas he and his family get from the news cycle. “And the world just keeps giving us more — White Chicks 2 is writing itself.”
With White Chicks 2 off his radar, for now, Marlon Wayans has been keeping busy, appearing in popular projects such as Bel-Air and Respect. He’s also working with Ben Affleck on a film about Nike, in which Wayans is set to portray basketball Hall of Famer George Raveling.
