Potential Storylines and Setups from DreamWorks Sequel

The following contains spoilers for The Bad Guys 2The Bad Guys 2 sets up plenty of potential directions for the titular gang to go in future entries of the series. The star-studded cast of The Bad Guys movies are set up with a new lease on life by the end of their second adventure. Building off the success of the first film, which became a sleeper hit for DreamWorks when it was released in 2022, The Bad Guys 2 opens the door for plenty of potential sequels.

While The Bad Guys 3 hasn’t been confirmed at the time of this writing, the film’s director, Pierre Perifel, has confirmed he has interest in making a sequel. The strong reviews and positive reception to the sequel could give hope for the series to transform into a bigger franchise for DreamWorks. If that happens, there are plenty of stories set up by the latest film (and material to pull from the original books of the same name by Aaron Blabey) to fuel even beyond The Bad Guys 3.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Focus On The Gang’s Spy Missions

The ending of The Bad Guys 2 saw the titular crew (along with Diane) faking their deaths and joining a spy organization, setting up The Bad Guys 3 and any subsequent sequels to follow through on that thread. The Bad Guys is already a cartoonish and silly riff on the crime thriller genre, so it’s not a huge leap to shift into the tropes of spy films.

It would be an easy way to expand the world of The Bad Guys, showcasing a larger world of characters and conspiracies that could be built out into plenty of different stories. This could prolong the series as long as DreamWorks wants it to go, justifying any number of self-contained adventures or direct reimaginings of famous spy movies.

The Bad Guys 2 builds on the gang’s motivation to be better people, and actively saving the world as secret agents seems like a great use of their abilities. It also opens up the filmmakers to really go wild with the concept, with the slick animation naturally fitting the espionage tone.

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The Bad Guys 3 Will Need To Address Mr. Marmalade’s Reveal

The post-credits scene of The Bad Guys 2 revealed that Mr. Marmalade helping the Bad Girls was actually part of his plan all along. After being “accidentally” dragged into space by their gold magnet, Marmalade revealed that his golden limo was secretly a spaceship before blasting off to return to his home world.

It’s a wild turn, but one that has precedent in the original book series that inspired the films. Marmalade’s alien origins end up playing into several plots in the book series. An adaptation of that arc could be the focus of The Bad Guys 3, or the film could spend time seeding the return of the first film’s villain for future stories.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Bring Back The Bad Girls For Supporting Roles

The Bad Guys 2 pits Wolf’s gang against the Bad Girls, an upstart criminal trio who almost pull of an unimaginable heist. The three were all fun additions to the universe, and could easily return in a follow-up film in a number of ways. Doom’s romantic storyline with Snake could come back into play, especially in contrast to Diane and Wolf.

Pigtail Petrova is the definition of a fun side-character, easily deployable for a few scenes without distracting from the plot — making her an ideal familiar face to introduce while the group is on a mission. Kitty could also return, albeit more likely as a rival or outright enemy of Wolf and the rest of the group.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Bring Back Their Technocrat Parody

The Bad Guys 2 takes a serious turn when the Bad Girls blackmail the Bad Guys into helping them rob Mr. Moon’s personal smartwatch, which controls his fleet of spaceships. This is when the film pokes the most fun at the 1%, portraying Mr. Moon as a vain and quick-to-anger technocrat whose personal rocket ship gets hijacked as part of Kitty’s plans.

Mr. Moon has a lot of comedic potential for future returns. Voiced by Saturday Night Live’s Colin Jost, Mr. Moon could be brought back as a gag minor character or a villain in his own right. Pierre Perifel told Polygon that a returning Mr. Moon is something he’s considering for a prospective The Bad Guys 3, highlighting the character’s potential.

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The Bad Guys 3 Should Keep Wolf And Diane Together

The Bad Guys 2 took the flirtations of Wolf and Diane from the first film into a more overt place, with the pair sharing a kiss during the climax of the film. The Bad Guys 3 could do a lot with this new romance, especially given how much chemistry they’ve already shown on film.

Wolf and Diane could now be actively working together or arguing over leadership on missions. They could simply be together as a character beat, a stable contrast to any other cast members who get a romance storyline. If the series continues for a while, it could even take a page from the Shrek franchise and focus on the shape of their golden years or potential children.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Introduce Wolf’s Father

In the backstory of The Bad Guy books that inspired the films, Mr. Wolf’s father was a vindictive and cruel criminal years before the events of the film. It was his influence on his son and his best friend that helped transform them into the Mr. Wolf and Mr. Snake of the present day.

If The Bad Guys 3 were to include character origins, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the film bring in a big-name actor to play Vinnie — either in flashback to Wolf and Snake’s backstory or by reimagining his film version as a crime lord in the present day, giving the gang a very personal enemy to confront.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Give The Crew Superpowers

The Bad Guys films have taken liberties with specific characters and storylines from the books, with the series taking lots of unexpected turns over the years. This includes the events of the eighth book, “Superbad.” The gang is involved in a time-travel plotline that ends up giving them superpowers like shape-shifting, super speed, and telekinesis.

Playing with elements from that story could be a fun way to transition the series into a superhero riff if they ever want to. It’s a creative freedom that could also be more tied to any overarching plotlines in the potential franchise, as the powers do play into a major storyline involving Mr. Marmalade’s return.

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The Bad Guys 3 Could Introduce Shortfuse

In contrast to the abuse that Wolf faced from his father, Diane’s primary mentor figure was Shortfuse. Having adopted Fox when she was younger, the aggressive Tasmanian Devil trained Fox and helped hone her skills into what they are today. Shortfuse could appear as a gag character or supporting player in The Bad Guys 3, especially in contrast to Vinnie.

This could also help establish the character early on, laying the groundwork for her eventual important role in the latter events of the book series. It’s unclear what the future for The Bad Guys franchise looks like at the moment, but Shortfuse could become a very important figure in the series.

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The Bad Guys 3 Might Be Building To A Cosmic Storyline

The Bad Guys book series ultimately goes cosmic in a way that might seem unexpected to audiences only familiar with the heists and car chases of the first film. While the second movie took the cast briefly into outer space, the books that inspired the movies eventually introduce alien species and multiversal threats.

A prospective The Bad Guys 3 could lean heavily into this angle, pitting the super spy agents against the return of Dr. Marmalade and his more overt alien technology. A sequel could also remain more self-contained and focused on the characters, seeding Marmalade’s return for a future film. There are lots of directions for any follow-up of The Bad Guys 2 to take.

Source: Polygon