The Planned Heathers Sequel We'll Sadly Never See
Hey, Dan Waters! What's your damage? We want a "Heathers" sequel! If you're one of the many fans of this '80s cult classic, you may have spent a lot of time agonizing over not just which plaid blazer to wear to school (never the red unless your name is Heather Chandler) but also the unknown possibility of whether Veronica and the Heathers will finally get a sequel to their teen angst body count.
"Heathers," written by Waters and directed by Michael Lehmann, starred a young Winona Ryder as Veronica Sawyer, a high school girl who befriends the popular girls at Westerburg High School. The girls all happen to be named Heather, and Veronica is immediately the odd girl out — like you couldn't already guess that just by her name alone — and her "friendship" with the Heathers is complicated from the start. When Veronica meets bad boy J.D. (Christian Slater, swoon), the two are automatically attracted to each other and to their shared dislike of Heather Chandler, the leader of the croquet-loving group. In a prank gone wrong, J.D. and Veronica end up accidentally (well, more accidental for Veronica than J.D.) poisoning Heather Chandler with drain cleaner and disguise it as a suicide. This death sets off a chain of events involving multiple murders camouflaged as suicides and a near-blown up high school, until Veronica finally brings a stop to it all in a delightfully singed fashion.
The film was a total box office flop when it came out. Many did not understand the movie's dark humor and acerbic dialogue. But over the years it has become a beloved addition to the oeuvre of films dedicated to exploring mean girls and teenage angst. The film is open-ended enough that a sequel would be possible, and it turns out that Waters himself has even spent time thinking up what that might look like. The only problem is, we will probably never see it.
Winona (Still) Wants a Sequel, and So Do We!
In an oral history of "Heathers" for Entertainment Weekly, Waters and Ryder discussed the possibility of a sequel, but both of them seem to have different levels of enthusiasm for making it. Waters states that he had a plot for "Heathers 2" planned, and it took Veronica's body count even further.
"I did come up with this crazy, cockamamy Heathers 2 where Veronica becomes a page for a senator named Heather, played by Meryl Streep. The ending is her assassinating the president and getting away with it — and it's a good thing."
Frankly, this concept sounds wild and like just the sort of thing people would be dying to watch right now. Sadly, though, Waters mostly seems to have been tongue-in-cheek when suggesting this as an actual possibility. Ryder, however, is passionate about the possibility of a "Heathers 2" and simply will not let the idea die.
In the Entertainment Weekly piece, she stated, "First of all, I don't know what their problem is with not wanting to make a sequel," and went on to say:
"Dan came up with: It's Veronica, years later, she's in Washington. She's somehow erased her past. And she's being blackmailed, there's like men in suits who know about the Westerberg murders. And I'm like, 'What if Christian comes in as the Obi-Wan guy and explains to me...' And I remember the First Lady was Meryl Streep."
Ryder did not try to hide her enthusiasm for the prospect of this "Heathers" sequel, and even went on to say that she has been badgering Waters about making it for a very long time. She even once took matters into her own hands and tried to convince Meryl Streep to sign on to the project before it was actually ever a project. How very.
For what it's worth, no matter how much Ryder (and the rest of us) wants a sequel to "Heathers," it doesn't seem like anyone else is as enthusiastic about the possibility. Entertainment Weekly published a piece a few years ago that again hinted at the return of Veronica, but the source was just a passionate Ryder. Whether or not there is a possibility of returning to Sherwood, Ohio (or the White House, even) is still very much up in the air, though Waters has said it will never happen. The only thing we can do to console ourselves is visit our local Snappy Snack Shack and buy ourselves a delicious, cherry slushie. Just don't forget the corn nuts!