‘Paul Blart: Mall Cop’ Sequel is in the Works Because Ours is a Cruel and Unforgiving God

By  · Published on January 8th, 2014

Paul Blart

Because where there’s a will, there’s a segway, Kevin James will be returning to theaters approximately five years too late for the sequel to 2009’s small town security-based comedy Paul Blart: Mall Cop. The first film was a surprise hit, raking in $146 million, and James and his writing partner Nick Bakay are hoping to strike gold again with another installment of the tale that follows mild-mannered mall security guard Blart as he transforms into a hero to save a group of hostages from an in-mall bank heist and win the love of a kiosk clerk played by Jayma Mays.

Andy Flickman (Parental Guidance, You Again, the Escape to Witch Mountain remake) is in talks to direct the sequel, which doesn’t have a synopsis yet. But if you care to recall the the ending to the first film, Blart (it rhymes with fart) frees the hostages from the mall, then follows the burglars, who still have his girlfriend and daughter held prisoner, to the airport for a standoff. It’s revealed that one of the rookie security guards had been working with the head of the SWAT team to pull off the heist – but they’re no match for a bumbling middle-level mall lackey. Blart saves the day and is offered a position on the New Jersey State Police force, his dream job; he turns it down to continue keeping things in line at his beloved mall and spending his days with his lady.

With Blart still content as a security guard and stuck in mall suburbia, there’s not too much of a plot deviation for the sequel. The film could show Blart in his same mall, maybe promoted to the Commander role while dealing with a bigger and more outrageous scenario to outdo the bank heist. Maybe he’s a mall security guard at a bigger and better mall, like the Mall of America, or that insane complex in Dubai, now that word of his skills have spread after his heroic actions in the first film. Maybe we should stop speculating because no matter what we do or think, this sequel is going to happen.

James will be producing, along with Adam Sandler under Happy Madison. Could this mean that Blart has a wacky new mall cop best friend to help him solve crimes in his new regime, or possibly a rival security guard with an equally ridiculous name and a better segway just to rub it in his face that he’s better at his job?

Filming is expected to begin in April, so for those of you Blart Buddies (I just made that up, but I bet some regretful googling will tell me that someone out there calls themselves this) psyched for more mall action, it’s coming soon.