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Jim Carrey returning as the Grinch is one of those ideas that sounds both completely inevitable and kind of impossible. The live-action How the Grinch Stole Christmas has become a full-blown holiday rewatch staple since its 2000 release, but the already sequel-averse Carrey has been very open about how miserable that makeup process was. Not bad enough, though, as
So, if he is really heading back to Whoville, I hope the sequel looks beyond Christmas. I hope it draws inspiration from a deep-cut cartoon that most don’t even know exists.
What We Know About The Sequel
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Universal and Imagine Entertainment are developing a sequel to Ron Howard’s 2000 film, with Carrey in talks to reprise the role and Howard expected to return as director. Brian Grazer is also involved, while Alec Berg, Jeff Schaffer and David Mandel are writing the script. (The three writers all hail from Curb Your Enthusiasm, which features one of pop culture's biggest grinches in Larry David.) That team being in place alone is enough to make this feel like a true continuation of one of the best Christmas movies of all time, rather than some disconnected rebrand with a new green grump under the fur.
Which definitely matters, because the live-action Grinch has had a strange pop culture life. It was huge when it came out, earning $260 million domestically and $345 million worldwide. It also won the Best Makeup Oscar, which feels right considering Rick Baker and Gail Rowell-Ryan basically turned Carrey into a walking Christmas fever dream.
Of course, that makeup process also became infamous. Carrey has said the transformation initially took around eight hours a day, and he once recalled wanting to quit on the first day and return his $20 million fee before the process was eventually reduced to about three hours. When he laid out his conditions for returning to a sequel back in 2024, they mostly centered on avoiding that same painful costume ordeal.
I understand why getting Carrey back might require some modern movie magic. If motion capture or improved prosthetics can make the experience less brutal, great. Let the man be green without sending him through another round of torture training.
The question now is what story Universal wants to tell. The original 1957 book, the 1966 animated special and Howard’s movie all center on the Grinch learning not to hate Christmas. The 2000 film expanded his tragic backstory and introduced the Whos and Cindy Lou Who, but it still ended with the same big-hearted holiday conclusion. A sequel has to do something different.
Luckily for everyone involved, I have a great idea. They should focus on Halloween like this forgotten 70s cartoon sequel.
The Deep Cut Halloween Grinch Sequel
This is where I really hope someone in the writers’ room has watched Halloween Is Grinch Night.
The Emmy-winning 1977 animated TV special is basically the weird, spooky cousin of How the Grinch Stole Christmas. It is technically a Grinch follow-up, but instead of another Christmas story, it throws the character into a Halloween-adjacent nightmare. The Grinch comes down from Mount Crumpit on a strange, wind-driven night with a wagon full of surreal horrors, and a young Who named Euchariah has to face him.
It is odd., eerie, and has that unmistakably Seussian nonsense logic. Honestly, that is exactly why it could be a success. I am not saying the live-action sequel should remake Halloween Is Grinch Night outright. Borrowing its energy is a smart move, and changing the Holiday focus is a no-brainer.
The 2000 movie already leaned into grotesque Whoville production design, weird humor and Carrey’s goblin-mode physical comedy. A sequel that moves into a spooky, autumnal Grinch story could let the character be nasty, theatrical and funny without simply rehashing stolen presents.
It would also give Universal a way to make the sequel feel less like a late cash-in and more like an actual swing. The Grinch has already learned Christmas. What happens when he has to deal with fear, chaos or some other holiday-flavored emotional disaster?
That is the movie I want. Give me Carrey back in the suit, Howard back behind the camera, and a little Halloween Is Grinch Night weirdness crawling around the edges. Christmas may belong to the Grinch, but his next movie could use a little October in its bloodstream.
The OG How the Grinch Stole Christmas is available to rent with an Amazon Prime Subscription. Or, if you want to check out Halloween is Grinch Night, luckily for you, it's streaming online for free over on YouTube.
