Russell Crowe Reveals Title for The Nice Guys Sequel He and Ryan Gosling Came Up With

Like many of filmmaker Shane Black’s films, his 2016 The Nice Guys earned critical acclaim yet failed to perform strongly at the box office, with fans growing more passionate about the comedic neo-noir in the years since it was released. Star Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling clearly both have a soft spot for the picture, as Crowe recently revealed that, while there are no confirmed plans for a follow-up, he and Gosling thought up a sequel titled “Nice Guys: The Mexican Detectives,” which would have seen the pair hilariously having to pass for being, well, Mexican detectives. 

Speaking with the KFC Radio podcast, Crowe joked, “We wanted to call it ‘Nice Guys: The Mexican Detectives’. Bang! It’s me & Ryan, somehow we’ve got to pretend we’re Mexican detectives.”

This is a play on one of the film’s final scenes, in which a newspaper ad for the pair’s new detective service makes them appear Phillipino and Mexican. Whether any details were conjured between the two about a genuine plot is unknown, or if it was merely an inside joke between the two of them about their interest in continuing the narrative.

The Nice Guys scores 91% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with the nature of the premise of two unlikely figures having to come together to explore the same mystery lending itself well to repeated adventures. In fact, Black previously confirmed that the project was initially developed as a TV series that would have allowed for a longer-form concept.

“We tried it as a TV show,” Black shared with /Film back in 2022. “We caught the characters, but the plot was totally different. It was set in present day, and no one wanted to buy it. We had to look elsewhere.”

While we would have gotten more time with the characters, Black admitted that it was a relief that the project didn’t move forward as a TV series, detailing that it “wouldn’t have been any good” as a TV series, as “tonally, TV tends to homogenize … So if you’ve got something that’s a little odd or twisted, chances are the [network executives are] going to take it and just start … [sanding] off the edges.”

Back in 2018, Black confirmed how passionate he was about making a sequel, if only he could find someone to give him the money for it.

“[I’d make a sequel] in a heartbeat, if someone would pay for it,” Black revealed to Fandango. “We had all kinds of ideas. The problem is it didn’t do that well at the box office. I imagine it will break even, which is not a formula for reacquiring two very expensive movie stars and proceeding with a sequel.”

Black’s last directorial effort was 2018’s The Predator.

Do you want a follow-up to The Nice Guys? Let us know in the comments!