Seth Gordon looks to return for ‘Horrible Bosses 2’

EXCLUSIVE: Could there soon be more raunchy mayhem from the “Horrible Bosses” crew?

New Line has made an offer to director Seth Gordon to return to the R-rated property he helped turn into one of the biggest comedy hits of last summer, said a person familiar with the project who was not authorized to talk about it publicly. Gordon also wants to be back behind the camera for the sequel and is in negotiations to take the gig, the person said.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, who were writers on the original, were brought on in Januaryto write a script for a new installment.

The first film, of course, centered on a plan by three friends to kill each other’s supervisors. The new movie will not involve a murder plot, according to a person familiar with the script.

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A New Line spokeswoman confirmed the Gordon negotiations but said there are no offers yet to principal actors Jason Bateman, Charlie Day and Jason Sudeikis.

If deals can be made with the actors, the studio would produce the movie with an eye toward releasing it in 2014.

“Horrible Bosses” was an unlikely hit when it came out a year ago, grossing more than $200 million worldwide on a budget of only about $35 million. The project was followed by another Bateman-Gordon comedy collaboration, “Identity Thief,” which will come out next spring.

Studios are more eager than ever to find some consistency in the comedy realm after a slew of original movies — including “That’s My Boy,” “The Dictator” and “The Five-Year Engagement” — disappointed at the box office this year.

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