A new wave of 2000s nostalgia is starting to hit the pop culture world with Ariana Grande’s “Thank You, Next” video, B2K’s Millennium tour, and other homages to the days of massive T-shirts, trucker hats, and jersey dresses. Now, MTV is jumping on this trend with How High 2, a sequel to the 2001 stoner flick starring Method Man and Redman that gained cult status among fans despite negative reviews. But, this new film, premiering on April 20, won’t be an update on Silas and Jamal’s story because Method Man and Redman are not in the How High 2 movie, per HipHopDX. Their absence is shocking for fans, especially given the long and complicated road towards this follow up project.
In 2008, Redman revealed to SOHH.com that a How High sequel was in the works. The original movie is owned by Universal Pictures, so the original stars were working with the company to reprise their roles. The rapper followed up with the same website a year later and said production of the movie was being stalled because Universal Pictures wasn’t giving up the money to shoot the film, even though Redman and Method Man had heavily promoted How High 2 to their fans.
Updates on the movie’s status stalled until late 2015 when Redman told Vibe Magazine that How High 2 would likely drop in 2017. However, 2017 came and Redman said the script was being re-written to make needed changes and neither he nor Method Man would not be involved if it wasn’t as funny as the original movie. Method Man, who is famously private and low-key, joined Redman for a 2017 Vision 4 Productions interview and passed a question off about How High 2 to his comrade. At that time, they believed they would start shooting in 2018.
However, Redman finally confirmed via Instagram in October 2018 that he nor Method Man wouldn’t return to the sequel to “make it funny” with them because there were business issues. He congratulated How High 2 leading actors Lil Yachty and DC Young Fly and told people to stop calling him about the movie because he is not in it.
Redman spoke to HipHopDX and revealed that he was upset that his team wasn’t notified by the company about the final plans for How High 2. He believes both he and Method Man should have been compensated for promoting the sequel for over 10 years - a statement which was corroborated with several concert videos of the duo hyping fans up about the movie. His point-of-view honestly makes sense considering how they found out via the news like everyone else when they played a part in creating this franchise. At the end of the clip, Redman revealed that he’s working with Method Man to create a new movie where they will own their rights and characters.
Meanwhile, How High 2’s trailer caused a stir among viewers on social media who weren’t down for this new take on a classic story. Some YouTube comments and Twitter reactions said it just wasn’t the same without Redman and Method Man onscreen and slammed the clip for being “corny” while others thought the title should have been changed because it wasn’t a continuation of the first movie.
How High 2 may be missing Redman and Method Man, but at least this duo has a new creative project on the way. Until then, fans will have to dust off their How High DVDs and relive Silas and Jamal's epic Ivy League adventures.
