History Trivia / Grease2

** [[Music/{{Blondie}} Debbie Harry]] likewise turned down the female lead, as she felt she was too old to play a high school student.[[note]]Given that Stephanie's hairstyle looks, in the early scenes, exactly like Harry's did at the time, it's clear that part of the reason Creator/MichellePfeiffer got the part was that they saw her as a SpiritualSubstitute for the actress they had really wanted[[/note]] Other singers and actresses with musical experience, like Music/PatBenatar, Andrea [=McArdle=] and Kristy [=McNichol=], were also considered or pursued before they finally settled on another young then-unknown, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, who had by her own admission little experience singing or dancing at the time and was surprised she got the part, for her "quirkiness".

** [[Music/{{Blondie}} Debbie Harry]] was initially asked to play Stephanie Zinone. She declined, saying she was too old to play a high school student. Creator/KristyMcNichol was also considered.

* RoleReprise: The only students to come back for ''Film/Grease2'' are Creator/EddieDeezen as Eugene and Didi Conn as Frenchy; Creator/SidCaesar as Coach Calhoun, Eve Arden as Miss Lynch, and Dody Goodman as Blanche also return.

* OldShame: Creator/MichellePfeiffer joked that she showed the film to her kids and they turned it off after twenty minutes. While filming ''Film/{{Stardust}}'', Creator/MatthewVaughn told her that this was his favourite film of hers, her response was a FlatWhat.
-->I thought he was pulling my leg... It was my role in ''that'' that made him want to work with me.

* RoleReprise: The only students to come back for ''Film/Grease2'' are Creator/EddieDeezen as Eugene and Didi Conn as Frenchy; Creator/SidCaesar as Coach Calhoun and Eve Arden as Miss Lynch also return.

** Original screenwriter Bronte Woodard [[AuthorExistenceFailure died]] young in 1980, further slowing things down. Ultimately writing the first draft would fall on Canadian comedian Ken Finkleman, who had to find time to come up with characters and a story from scratch while writing and directing ''Film/AirplaneIITheSequel''. Patricia Birch, who had choreographed both the original and the stage show, was tapped to direct after Randall Kleiser took the helm of ''Film/TheBlueLagoon''.

* BTeamSequel: Not only did Creator/JohnTravolta and Music/OliviaNewtonJohn not return, but director Randal Kleiser and writer Bronte Woodard (who [[AuthorExistenceFailure had died in 1980]]) had no involvement.
* DisownedAdaptation: Jim Jacobs, who created the original play, described this movie as "awful... the pits.".

** [[Music/{{Blondie}} Debbie Harry]] was initially asked to play Stephanie Zinone. She declined, saying she was too old to play a high school student.

** So, after it was one of the biggest hits of 1978, suddenly there was going to be a sequel. Initially it was to include all the characters in some post-high school capacity, with a younger crop of actors playing new students at Rydell, but while even Creator/JohnTravolta and Creator/OliviaNewtonJohn expressed interest at initial meetings, delays in getting a script together meant most of the original cast who had played students moved on to other projects save Didi Conn (Frenchy) and Creator/EddieDeezen (Eugene). Paramount, meantime, thought big, envisioning a franchise to consist of, ultimately, four films, the latter two to take place in the mid- and late 1960s, and a TV series.

** Music/DebbieHarry likewise turned down the female lead, as she felt she was too old to play a high school student.[[note]]Given that Stephanie's hairstyle looks, in the early scenes, exactly like Harry's did at the time, it's clear that part of the reason Creator/MichellePfeiffer got the part was that they saw her as a SpiritualSubstitute for the actress they had really wanted[[/note]] Other singers and actresses with musical experience, like Music/PatBenatar, Andrea [=McArdle=] and Kristy [=McNichol=], were also considered or pursued before they finally settled on another young then-unknown, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, who had by her own admission little experience singing or dancing at the time and was surprised she got the part, for her "quirkiness".
** Creator/TomCruise also auditioned for Nogerelli, but Birch thought him too young and short for the part. Creator/{{Cher}} backed out of playing one of the Pink Ladies over the delays in getting production going and what she considered to be too low a salary to justify the wait. Jennifer Beals left her part in that group to take the lead role in ''Film/{{Flashdance}}''. Creator/AnnetteFunicello couldn't find time away from her Skippy Peanut Butter commercials to play one of the teachers.

** Maxwell Caulfield blamed this film for killing his budding Hollywood career. After the movie bombed, Paramount dropped his contract. In his own words, "It took me ten years to get over ''Grease 2''." (He ''did'' find relative success on the ''Series/Dynasty1981'' spin-off ''Series/TheColbys'' only three years after this film.)
** Creator/MichellePfeiffer's career nearly suffered this because she was initially considered to be rejected from ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}''.

** Music/Debbie Harry likewise turned down the female lead, as she felt she was too old to play a high school student.[[note]]Given that Stephanie's hairstyle looks, in the early scenes, exactly like Harry's did at the time, it's clear that part of the reason Creator/MichellePfeiffer got the part was that they saw her as a SpiritualSubstitute for the actress they had really wanted[[/note]] Other singers and actresses with musical experience, like Music/PatBenatar, Andrea [=McArdle=] and Kristy [=McNichol=], were also considered or pursued before they finally settled on another young then-unknown, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, who had by her own admission little experience singing or dancing at the time and was surprised she got the part, for her "quirkiness".

** [[Music/{{Blondie Debbie Harry}} likewise turned down the female lead, as she felt she was too old to play a high school student.[[note]]Given that Stephanie's hairstyle looks, in the early scenes, exactly like Harry's did at the time, it's clear that part of the reason Creator/MichellePfeiffer got the part was that they saw her as a SpiritualSubstitute for the actress they had really wanted[[/note]] Other singers and actresses with musical experience, like Music/PatBenatar, Andrea [=McArdle=] and Kristy [=McNichol=], were also considered or pursued before they finally settled on another young then-unknown, Creator/MichellePfeiffer, who had by her own admission little experience singing or dancing at the time and was surprised she got the part, for her "quirkiness".

* BTeamSequel: Not only did Creator/JohnTravolta and Music/OliviaNewtonJohn not return, but director Randal Kleiser and writer Bronte Woodard (who [[CreatorFailure had died in 1980]]) had no involvement.

* BTeamSequel: Not only did Creator/JohnTravolta and Music/OliviaNewtonJohn not return, but director Randal Kleiser and writer Bronte Woodard had no involvement.

* RoleReprise: The only students to come back for ''Film/Grease2'' are Eddie Deezen as Eugene and Didi Conn as Frenchy; Sid Caesar as Coach Calhoun and Eve Arden as Miss Lynch also return.

* FranchiseKiller: The failure of this prevented further {{Sequelitis}}. There were studio plans of having at least [[WhatCouldHaveBeen three more sequels and a TV series]], but they were instantly scrapped after this film bombed.

** Was originally supposed to focus on the original gang in summer school but by the time Paramount took an interest, the actors were all busy.
** Creator/{{Paramount}} was envisioning up to three more sequels and possibly a TV series. Would ''Grease 3'' have worked with the mid-Sixties and UsefulNotes/TheBritishInvasion music as a backdrop? Would ''Grease 4'' have dealt with hippies? Would there have been a Seventies version, sorta like ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' with musical numbers? We'll never know.
** ''[[RecycledTheSeries Grease: The TV Series]]'' would most likely have been ''Series/HappyDays'' [[JustForFun/XMeetsY meets]] ''Series/{{Glee}}''.

** Creator/JohnTravolta and Music/OliviaNewtonJohn were expected to reprise their roles as Danny and Sandy, now married and running a gas station, but nothing came of it. There were also plans for Jeff Conway and Creator/StockardChanning to have a cameo. According to Didi Conn [[http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/good-morning-britain/news/a856740/grease-secret-frenchy-actress-didi-conn-good-morning-britain/ in a May 2018 interview]], a direct sequel was always intended and a line of dialogue about "see you in summer school" at the end of the first movie was intended to be the SequelHook, but the studio expected the film to be no more than a moderate one-off hit; by the time it became clear that the film more than justified a sequel, the original cast were not available to film a sequel.

** Maxwell Caulfield blamed this film for killing his budding Hollywood career. After the movie bombed, Paramount dropped his contract. In his own words, "It took me ten years to get over ''Grease 2''." (He ''did'' find relative success on the ''Series/{{Dynasty}}'' spin-off ''Series/TheColbys'' only three years after this film.)
** Creator/MichellePfeiffer's career nearly suffered this because she was initially considered to be rejected from working on ''Film/{{Scarface 1983}}''.

** Maxwell Caulfield blamed this film for killing his budding Hollywood career. After the movie bombed, Paramount dropped his contract. In his own words, "It took me ten years to get over ''Grease 2''." (He did find relative success on the ''Series/{{Dynasty}}'' spin-off ''Series/TheColbys'' only three years after this film.)