Edgar Wright Explains Why None of the Films From the Cornetto Trilogy Need a Sequel

Simon Pegg has already explained at great length why he’ll never participate in a Shaun of the Dead 2, and, now, the iconic director behind the project has similarly shut down requests for a sequel. Now we just need Nick Frost to cuss out a Hot Fuzz fan to unmistakably confirm that the Cornetto won’t be getting a fourth flavor.

Back in 2004, Wright, Pegg and Frost collaborated on what would become the single greatest horror-comedy film ever made with their debut feature Shaun of the Dead. Then, when the trio followed up the success of Shaun of the Dead with Hot Fuzz (2007) and The World’s End (2013), they tied together an era of comedy filmmaking with a thematically complete and entirely singular trilogy that remains iconic and cult-beloved to this day.

After that, and this is the important part, they moved on. While all three key figures in the Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy have expressed their interest in reconnecting and collaborating on a new project, none of them have entertained the incessant demands from their fans to tack on needless sequels to either Shaun of the Dead or Hot Fuzz, despite the overwhelming nostalgia for the films.

Now, Wright is on the press tour for his newest film, the sci-fi/action thriller Running Man, but he’s still fielding questions about movies he made 20 years ago in a new AMA on Reddit. 

“Any chance of a potential a new 'Cornetto' film with Simon and Nick?! I know it would cease to be a trilogy, but we'd forgive you,” one fan wrote in one of the top comments in the thread.

Wright answered plainly, “I'd love to work with Simon and Nick again, but not sure if it would be another Cornetto. I think it needs to be something we feel really excited about, and not feel like an obligation. But love them both and keen to noodle on it!”

However, the same answer that Pegg has had to give every time he's asked that same question didn't satisfy some fans of Wright's early work, and the Three Flavours Cornetto Trilogy continued to make appearances throughout the Q&A.

One Redditor asked Wright, “Have you ever looked at sequels for any of your movies? It's seemingly a less artsy decision and more of a blood spilling practice when films are explored beyond their first, sometimes it works of course.” 

“Some of them like Shaun, Fuzz, World's End feel like there's no more story to tell,” Wright answered, “It's tough when the lead character has completed an arc to find a good reason to do more. So many sequels for me suffer from a lack of further journey to make. I think that's why we did a thematic trilogy in the first place.”

It's not exactly a coincidence that the final entry in Three Favours Cornetto, The World's End, doesn't command quite as much nostalgia power and has fewer fans of the trilogy calling for a second installment. While any beloved film series must logically have one film that's the least-liked, and, comparatively, The World's End has fewer endlessly quotable lines than the previous installments, it also thematically concluded the trilogy by casting off the adolescence that made Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz such huge hits.

As Wright explained, the reason why he's not planning on making a sequel for his two most enduring films is because he already did – and the childishly nostalgic didn't like it.