Mark Ruffalo & Jennifer Garner Want To Make A 13 Going On 30 Sequel

Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo won over fans’ hearts as Jenna and Matty, childhood friends who became strangers and later lovers thanks to time travel, in the 2004 romantic comedy 13 Going on 30. Nearly two decades later, the beloved acting duo is finally reuniting as a married couple in Netflix’s latest sci-fi flick, The Adam Project. Not only have Garner and Ruffalo compared their characters’ relationship in the film to Jenna and Matty’s, but the actors have recently spoken at length about their desires to make a 13 Going on 30 sequel.

The Adam Project follows time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed (Ryan Reynolds), who works alongside his 12-year-old self to save the world from destruction. Garner and Ruffalo portray his parents, and while they only share one scene, the opportunity to work together again sparked their desire to join the project.

“[Director Shawn Levy] kind of dangled the idea of Mark and me doing this together, and I was like, ‘Look, I don’t even have to read it. I’m in. I would love to work with Ryan and you. I would love to do this, and if you can bring Mark Ruffalo and me together, I’d be so happy,’” Garner told Good Morning America on March 1. “It was so powerful that it was just like, ‘We can’t even look at it. We just have to go in and do it.’”

“We feel like the history of Matty and Jenna and all the sweet love people give 13 Going on 30 really adds to the feeling of the movie,” she continued, “and it really does feel like a continuation in a way.”

“It feels like Matty and Jenna tied the knot... again,” Ruffalo said of the movie, as he and Garner shared a pack of Razzles for old-times’ sake.

Speaking to Access Hollywood on a Feb. 28 red carpet in promotion of The Adam Project, Ruffalo further described the similarities between both film’s plots and characters. “The ability to go back and make the past right is really kind of at the root of [The Adam Project],” the actor said before proposing a potential follow-up to 13 Going on 30. “I sort of see this as a sequel, but Jen and I have been talking about this, and anyone in Hollywood who wants to jump on this, I do think it’s time for a sequel to what happens. Maybe 50 Going on 80, I don’t know.”

During their Good Morning America appearance, both actors spoke further on the prospect of a 13 Going on 30 sequel, with Garner jokingly claiming the plot would mirror The Adam Project. “I think [Jenna and Matty] would have a son, and I think he would look a lot like Ryan Reynolds, which is crazy,” she said with a laugh. “And I think maybe he’d become a time traveler.”

Garner also expressed a desire to pursue the idea of 50 Going on 80, to which Ruffalo replied, “And then in 10 years we could do 65 Going on 90. We can franchise the hell out of it.”

Finally, both actors promised they’ll collaborate on another project in the near future. “We won’t go another 18 years, for sure,” Garner said before turning to her co-star. “I mean, I’ll just haunt you. You have to hire me for something.”

“It’s over. This is going to be a yearly thing,” stated Ruffalo, who’s hopefully aware of how seriously fans will take that claim. We’ll be counting the minutes until 50 Going on 80 enters production.