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Anchorman 2

Old news for some, but our favourite news anchor is on the way back and here is the first teaser trailer to whet our appetite. That's right, the legendary Ron Burgundy and the Channel 4 Evening News Team are back and ready to take the world by a storm of pure masculine power. 

I have insanely high hopes for this film, and it's definitely one that they have to get right. The Hangover was brilliant, and although the Hangover 2 was still funny, it was nowhere near as brilliant. Generally, comedy sequels don't really live up to their predecessors, but there have been some happy exceptions and every Ron Burgundy fan will be praying that this is the case for Anchorman 2. There are a couple of things that the film has to get right:

1. Same stars, same characters

I'm not sure of the premise of the film, whether significant time is supposed to have passed since the original or whatever, but each character in the original film was well loved by fans. From the big roles such as Veronica Corningstone (Christina Applegate) and Brick Tamland (Steve Carrell) to the much smaller roles in Ed Harken (Fred Willard) the news director and his assistant (Chris Parnell), each character has a moment that can produce a real laugh, so to have them back will really help the film to shine. Reportedly, the bigger stars such as Steve Carrell, Paul Rudd, and of course Will Ferrell have had to take some major pay-cuts in order to allow this film to be financially possible, which you would presume would mean that this is a film that they are all really passionate about making. 

2. New characters, but the right characters

Time has passed since the last Anchorman, and since that time some forms of humour have evolved and new stars have made themselves into household names. You can expect that there will be a shed-load of personalities appearing as cameos in this film (hopefully we will see Ben Stiller reprise his role), but this is still a film that should concentrate on the main cast predominantly. Sure, bring in Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Tina Fey, but don't go overboard and try to get the whole cast of How I Met Your Mother somehow slotting in. Audiences will want to see their new favourite comedians turn up, but a memorable cameo doesn't have to be much more than that.

3. New News Story

This may be one of the tough ones to achieve, but I have faith. In the original we saw a love-story marred by Ron Burgundy's tragically hilarious downfall, but what will we see this time? Will we see the Channel 4 team adjusting to new media technologies and a changing society? Or will it simply be a rehash of the same story in a different location (Hangover 2)? The cast will probably be able to keep the film above water in any case, but it'd be good to have some sort of structure behind what's making us laugh.

4. More of the same!

What made Anchorman funny is sure to make Anchorman 2 just as funny, as long as it keeps itself fresh. We'll want more hilariously improvised conversations, more talking dogs, more street-fights and more memorable one-liners, just as long as they aren't exactly the same or overly predictable. I personally would want to see another news team fight, if they can work it in in an original way.

So, are you excited for the next Anchorman? You stay classy San Diego.