Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively in A Simple Favor. The duo reunite for Another Simple Favor, which will debut at this year’s South by Southwest as the opening night film.

Get ready to RSVP for the can’t-miss event of the season. South by Southwest has just announced that Another Simple Favor, the latest movie from festival regular Paul Feig, will be this year’s opening night film for the Film and Television Festival (March 7-15).

The film joins a packed slate of titles that includes The Studio (the new TV show from Seth Rogen), action sequel The Accountant 2 starring Ben Affleck, and the latest film from Nicole Kidman, Holland.

Another Simple Favor is the sequel to Feig’s 2018 smash A Simple Favor, in which single mom turned suburban sleuth Stephanie (Anna Kendrick) gets swept up in the dark secrets of her stylish and mysterious new friend, Emily (Blake Lively).

The first teaser poster for Another Simple Favor, the opening night film for SXSW 2025 Credit: Amazon/MGM
For Another Simple Favor, Stephanie and Emily head to Capri in Italy for Emily’s wedding to a businessman – and, of course, intrigue and murder ensue. The sequel reunites Kendrick and Lively with their costar from the first film, Henry Golding, and adds Andrew Rannells, Bashir Salahuddin, Elizabeth Perkins, Michele Morrone, Alex Newell, and Allison Janney. The script is by Jessica Sharzer and Laeta Kalogridis, based on characters by Darcey Bell, and the film was produced by Feigco Entertainment’s Paul Feig and Laura Fischer, executive produced by Jennifer Booth, Jessica Sharzer, and Marco Valerio Pugini, and is a Lionsgate and Feigco Entertainment production, and will be released by Amazon/MGM.

Director/producer Feig said, “I couldn’t be more thrilled to be back at my favorite festival in the world where we successfully launched Bridesmaids and Spy, and I cannot begin to say how honored I am to have our film opening it all. I’ve avoided making sequels to any of my films but these characters were just too much fun not to revisit. So, to be able to have Anna, Blake, Henry, Andrew, Michele, Elizabeth, Alex and myself watch our film with the great SXSW audience is a bucket list event that I’ll be able to check off March 7th and move playing drums for Dwight Yoakam’s band up to the top slot.”

SXSW VP Film & TV Claudette Godfrey added, “When we saw this film last fall, we instantly knew it had to open SXSW – it gave us that electric feeling we live for as programmers. Paul Feig and SXSW share an unmatched love for bold, fearless comedy. From that unforgettable late night screening of Bridesmaids to Spy‘s raucous world premiere, his films capture exactly what makes our festival special – wildly entertaining projects that push boundaries. We’re beyond excited to reunite with Paul and kick off the festival with a film that had our entire team laughing, cheering, and immediately wanting to watch it again!”

SXSW 2025 runs March 7-15. More details and info at sxsw.com. And don’t forget to follow all our coverage, and dig into the archives, at austinchronicle.com/sxsw.

This article appears in January 31 • 2025.

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The Chronicle's first Culture Desk editor, Richard has reported on Austin's growing film production and appreciation scene for over a decade. A graduate of the universities of York, Stirling, and UT-Austin, a Rotten Tomatoes certified critic, and eight-time Best of Austin winner, he's currently at work on two books and a play.