Should ‘Baby Driver 2’ happen? All the reasons we’re against it

2017’s Baby Driver is a film that people are still talking about. Directed by Edgar Wright and starring Ansel Elgort and Lily James, Baby Driver follows the story of a famed getaway driver Baby (Elgort) who wants to leave the life of crime to run away with his lover (James). Baby Driver was praised for its killer soundtrack, slick scenes, and the journey of Baby’s evolving morality.

Naturally, with a successful film both commercially and critically, there was talk of Baby Driver getting a sequel. What will happen when Baby and Deborah are reunited? Will Baby truly be free of his criminal past? The last concrete thing we heard about Baby Driver 2 was about a year ago in 2019 when Elgort and Wright both teased the possibility.

But, no. No, Hollywood. Stop the madness. Baby Driver 2 should not exist. Here’s why. 

It’s a film that doesn’t need a sequel

Not all films need sequels. Shock, gasps, Hollywood executives saying “What are you saying? Of course they need sequels! Capitalism!” Yeah, well, not all films need sequels. In fact, some of them shouldn’t really have sequels. Baby Driver is a film that shouldn’t have a sequel.

Why? Because the story is complete. Baby’s emotional journey is complete. He’s done the whole heroic arc over the course of the movie. Baby went from being a criminal who didn’t really engage with the world to someone who, well, did. While audiences can be curious about where Baby goes from here exactly. It doesn’t mean that the story should be told.

Why? 

It had a happy ending

Baby Driver 2 implies that there wasn’t a happy ending at the end of Baby Driver. Not that all stories need a happy ending. Sometimes, all they have is an ending or just an end. Baby Driver had a happy ending. Baby is captured, of course, but he does his time and gets out of prison to be with Deborah.

And that’s a happy ending. Baby got what he wanted. He’s done it. He doesn’t need to take revenge or anything. He just needs to be with Deborah and live a good life. It doesn’t need to go any further than that. Doing so, it would just end the happy ending that the pair had together. 

Basically, while you may like to see where the story goes, it doesn’t need to go. Baby Driver told the story that it needed to tell. The only way that a new one could be told without walking back on Baby’s character development is if they just had a new character in the role. 

And no one really wants that.