After more than two decades of questions about whether Andie Anderson and Benjamin Barry could ever return, a How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days sequel is officially in early development at Paramount.
Kate Hudson, who starred as magazine columnist Andie in the 2003 romantic comedy, is attached to produce the follow-up. Variety first reported that she will produce alongside Stacey Sher through Sher’s Shiny Penny banner.
The studio and filmmakers intend to bring Hudson and Matthew McConaughey back as Andie and advertising executive Benjamin Barry, but neither actor has been cast. The project is still searching for a screenwriter, and whether the original stars ultimately return will depend on the story that emerges.
That makes the announcement a significant change from the years Hudson spent answering hypothetical questions about a sequel. She repeatedly said she and McConaughey were open to returning if they found the right script.
Hudson and McConaughey Are the Goal, Not Confirmed Cast
Variety reported that the intention is for both Hudson and McConaughey to reprise their roles, but development has not advanced far enough for either actor to be announced as part of the cast.
Entertainment Weekly similarly reported that their returns will depend on the writer Paramount hires and the direction chosen for the story. Sher brings an extensive producing résumé to the project, including Pulp Fiction, Gattaca, Erin Brockovich, Vanilla Sky and Django Unchained.
Hudson Had Been Waiting for the Right Sequel Idea
During a July 2024 appearance on Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen, she said the most important issue would be the script and whether she and McConaughey both responded to it. “I think we’re both totally open,” Hudson said, while noting that a sequel simply had not happened.
By March 2025, rumors had expanded to include speculation that Hudson’s mother, Goldie Hawn, might somehow become involved. Hudson shut down the idea that anything was actually underway during The Drew Barrymore Show. “I have not had any contact with anyone about a sequel,” she said in the official show transcript.
Even then, Hudson left the door open. She said that if she were ever going to revisit the movie, she would want the idea to be “really right and good.”
The Original Still Has Plenty of Pull 23 Years Later
Directed by Donald Petrie, the original followed Andie as she deliberately tried to drive a man away in 10 days for a magazine assignment, unaware that Ben had made his own workplace bet that he could make any woman fall in love with him within the same period.
Kathryn Hahn, Adam Goldberg, Thomas Lennon, Michael Michele and Shalom Harlow were among the supporting cast. The movie became a substantial commercial success. Box Office Mojo lists approximately $177.6 million in worldwide grosses, while The Numbers puts the figure slightly higher at about $178.5 million and reports a $50 million production budget.
McConaughey recently called How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days probably his favorite romantic comedy and said it still produces more residual income for him than any other film he has made. He described it as “the gift that keeps on giving,” according to Entertainment Weekly, explaining that its continued life across streaming, television and other platforms has made it his most reliable source of what he calls “mailbox money.”
Hudson Has Credited Their Chemistry for the Movie’s Staying Power
Hudson has also repeatedly pointed to her chemistry with McConaughey when explaining why the movie still resonates. In a Vanity Fair career retrospective, she said the two shared a similar energy, describing both of them as naturally competitive, energetic and comfortable being flirtatious with each other onscreen.
That dynamic, she said, helped them connect naturally while playing two people who begin their relationship by deceiving each other. Hudson described McConaughey as one of the “great loves” of her professional life and said she felt fortunate to experience that kind of chemistry with someone she also considered talented and fun to work with.
The pair revisited the movie together for its 20th anniversary in February 2023, when they reunited online to discuss the production, their kissing scenes, Andie’s famous yellow dress and why audiences were still watching the film two decades later.
McConaughey had already indicated that he considered the premise unusually well suited to a continuation. In 2020, he said How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days was “teed up” for a sequel and called it one of the stronger romantic comedies he had made.
Paramount Still Has to Decide What Happened to Andie and Ben
The biggest unanswered question is also the one Hudson and McConaughey have been asked for years: what would Andie and Ben’s relationship actually look like more than two decades later?
Hudson has previously speculated about whether the characters would still be together, married or raising a family, but none of those ideas has been announced as the premise of the sequel. The new project is instead beginning with a mostly blank page.