Book Club 2 – The Next Chapter Starts Production, Takes Diane Keaton And Co. To Italy

Everyone's favorite boozy quartet is reuniting to sip wine and admire Rome — Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen, and Mary Steenburgen are returning for "Book Club 2 — The Next Chapter," and this time they're living it up in Italy. 2018's "Book Club" was a delightful surprise and ended up being a box office success, because who doesn't love the idea of watching moms read erotic literature? The movie is actually much more wholesome than I just made it sound and followed four friends who decide to spice up their decades-long book-club by reading "Fifty Shades of Grey." It ended up inspiring them to transform their lives but since change is an ongoing process and the world is a terrible place that desperately needs more Jane Fonda, a sequel was inevitable.

Also rejoining the fun are Andy Garcia, Don Johnson, and Craig T. Nelson, with new cast members including Giancarlo Giannini, Hugh Quarshie, and Vincent Riotta. The film sees the return of writers Bill Holderman and Erin Simms, with Holderman returning as director. Per Focus Features:

"The highly anticipated sequel follows our four best friends as they take their book club to Italy for the fun girls trip they never had. When things go off the rails and secrets are revealed, their relaxing vacation turns into a once-in-a-lifetime cross-country adventure."

The phrase girls trip has triggered my galaxy brain — would it be too much to ask for "Book Club" to take a nosedive into raunchy comedy territory? It's already halfway there, given the first movie was dedicated to a close reading of Christian Grey's life. But even if the sequel doesn't take inspiration from the Tiffany Haddish ensemble comedy, it has all the makings of an all-around great time given the success of the first film.

"Book Club 2 — The Next Chapter" is taking everything audiences loved about "Book Club" (namely the cast and their infectious chemistry) but shipping it off to Italy which is just inherently better, no? All the best parts, but with better quality wine, lots of pasta, and no doubt, an incredible cottage with a glorious kitchen where lots of drama and self-growth will go down. Between this and the return of Nancy Meyer, it's about to be a very good time for mom-coms.

Not too much has been revealed about the plot, but most of the crucial details are front and center: the cast is back and on vacation. But there is one major detail still missing — hint hint, it's in the title. This announcement neglects to answer: what could possibly be a more life-changing piece of literature than "Fifty Shades of Grey"? The stimulating novel inspired the women to completely turn their lives around and they already beat us to the obvious punch by finishing the series in the first film, so what's next? Is it time to delve into the world of Sylvia Day? Or maybe take a gander at the "After" series? Or maybe they could reverse-engineer this thing and read "Twilight," the OG "Fifty Shades" love story? Better yet, they could go even deeper and just focus their energies on "Fifty Shades" fan-fiction! Or maybe there's just no time for reading with all the vistas and wine. Whatever they end up reading will end up solid fodder for more entertainment, but if the first film taught us anything, it's that being pushed outside of their comfort zones is for the best.

So far, no release date for "Book Club 2 — The Next Chapter" has been announced.