After over 20 years, questions about a The Notebook 2 sequel movie remain unanswered.
The Notebook, initially released in 2004, is the heartbreaking romantic tale of Noah (Ryan Gosling) and Allie (Rachel McAdams), a pair of lovers in the 1940s who have been in and out of each other's lives for decades.
The film has cemented its status as one of the greatest big-screen romances ever, featuring a heart-breaking ending that continues to scar generations of fans even decades on.
Will The Notebook 2 Ever Happen?
The Notebook 2 has been a pipe dream for fans since the first movie came to theaters.
A sequel to Ryan Gosling (who fans may remember from 2023's Barbie cast) and Rachel McAdams' beloved big-screen romantic drama has never come to be, despite there being hints at more in the universe and plenty of narrative fodder for a potential follow-up to chew on.
The Notebook was adapted from the best-selling Nicholas Sparks novel of the same name, a book that has seen a sequel released since its initial debut.
The other book in The Notebook series was released in 2003 (seven years after the original) and is titled The Wedding. The 2003 romance novel follows the daughter of The Notebook's protagonists (Noah and Allie) long after her parents have passed, as she celebrates her 30th wedding anniversary with her distant husband, Wilson.
As the pair's marriage begins to falter, they use planning their daughter's wedding to help re-spark their romance and rediscover a connection they have not felt in years.
There have been no discussions for a sequel movie of The Wedding or any other sort of Notebook direct follow-up, but that is not to say the story will never be seen or heard from again.
At one point, Sparks was involved in a TV series remake of the original movie; however, it never went into production.
Speaking with Swooon in 2024, Sparks said, "In 2016, I made the decision to pull away from television." He admitted TV was once "interesting to him," but " it was an awful lot of work and an awful lot of time:"
"In 2016, I made the decision to pull away from television, essentially. It kind of went away, so to speak. Television was exciting, and it was interesting, but it was an awful lot of work and an awful lot of time. I had films, I had novels to write, I have five children, and there was just too much going on. Something had to go. I just made the decision of, why don’t we let the story of Allie and Noah exist in a novel and film? Around that time, as well, I decided the best way to move forward would be maybe to do a Broadway show, which is what we’ve done."
That led Sparks to pursue an adaptation of the movie in the form of the Broadway show, The Notebook: The Musical. The play ran on Broadway from March to December 2024, with a world tour planned in 2025.
Sparks' seeming enthusiasm for revisiting his classic story in a project like the musical makes some wonder if he would ever want to pursue a full-on The Notebook movie remake.
In that same conversation with Swooon, Sparks admitted he would "have to really think about [a remake.]" He said that sometimes, remakes can work, but other times, it can end in disappointment:
"I’d have to really think about that. Some films you can do remakes, for whatever reason. The remakes can work, but then other films just strike me as classically iconic. Like, that’s as well as it can be done. Whether you’re talking about, let’s say, 'Casablanca' or 'Jaws,' 'Unforgiven' with Clint Eastwood, or 'The Godfather.' If something is just so well done I don’t know why you want to remake it."
While there has been no indication of a sequel as of writing, anything is possible, and it could be developed in the future (whether based on the second book, The Wedding, or not).
The Notebook is streaming on Hulu and Max in the U.S.
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