Talk of a sequel to Love Jones have been in the air for some time now, though nothing concrete has developed thus far; and whether director Theodore Witcher, who, as his words suggest, became somewhat disillusioned with the industry and seemed to walk away from it, will even want to make a sequel is another uncertainty.
I haven't seen the film in ages (it screened at the New Voices In Black Cinema Festival last month, with Witcher and co-star Lisa Nicole Carson in attendance) but I was in LA at the time, so I missed it); one thing I do know is that it's a movie that's nearly universally loved by black folks; it's rare that I hear anything negative said about that film, and it repeatedly turns up, year after year, on various "top black films of all time" lists; some even think of it as a classic, even though it's not that old.
But does anyone really want to see a sequel to it? Seriously, do you? I feel like nostalgia for the original, as well as the era in which it was created, might be influencing our thoughts on this. The thought of it might be more appealing than the actual realization of it.
I say, leave it alone. I'd rather see Witcher do something fresh, new, original, especially give how many relationship dramas/rom-coms we've seen since then. If a sequel does happen, I think it’d run the risk of being lumped in with all the other so-called buppie rom-coms that came after Love Jones. It’ll have to be done somewhat differently than those in order to separate itself from them, encouraging audiences to believe that it’s not just another Best Man, or Brown Sugar, or any of all those others that starred Taye Diggs, Morris Chestnut, Sanaa Lathan, Gabrielle Union, and, yes, even Nia Long.
And if it has to be done, and Witcher doesn't want to do it, but there's studio interest in backing it, maybe get a director with a completely different sense of style, and who’s shown an interest and ability in handling romance on film, like maybe an up-and-comer like Barry Jenkins, as I proposed a couple of years ago when this last came up. I’d be much more interested in seeing what fresh talent like Barry can do with the material.
In the video clip below, Hip Hollywood caught up with Nia Long last week and asked her about a Love Jones sequel, and here's what she had to say: