HBO Planning ‘Game Change’ Sequel About 2012 Election

HBO is planning a sequel to their political film Game Change, this time focusing on the events of the 2012 election.

Game Change the original was a 2012 film based on the 2008 presidential election, focusing specifically on the McCain/Palin ticket. Senator John McCain was played by Ed Harris, and his VP running mate Governor Sarah Palin was played by Julianne Moore. The film was based on the 2010 book of the same name by political journalists Mark Halperin and John Heilemann.

Now, Halperin and Heilemann are working on a follow-up, titled Double Down: Game Change 2012, and HBO is interested in making a film sequel based on that book.

Penguin publisher Ann Godoff told The Hollywood Reporter: “John Heilemann and Mark Halperin reinvented the campaign narrative with Game Change. Their new book Double Down will, of course, break news; but more importantly, it will create the lasting story of the 2012 race for the presidency.”

The book is already being optioned by HBO, and Mediaite reports that the writer-director duo behind the the first Emmy Award-winning film is likely to return: Jay Roach as the director and Danny Strong penning the script.

Obviously, there’s no casting information available yet, but we can see Jason Sudeikis and Jay Pharaoh reprising their Saturday Night Live roles as Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama, respectively. It might be cool to see Moore return as Palin for a Fox News commentator cameo, as well.

Side-note: read the AV Club‘s take on the announcement of Game Change2: Electric Boogaloo if you have a minute. It will make you laugh.