Shooting is underway in Venice on Upgraded 2, the sequel to Amazon MGM Studios’ buzzy 2024 rom-com Upgraded, with Camila Mendes returning and Leslie Bibb joining the cast. This time, the story folds one of the art world’s biggest events right into the romance.
(Credits: Variety)
Upgraded 2 Films in Venice With the Biennale in the Story
According to Variety, filming is now happening in Venice, where the Biennale art show is part of the sequel’s storyline. That is a fitting setting for a franchise built around the high-society art world, and it promises a very different backdrop from the London and New York glamour of the first film.
Mendes is returning as Ana Santos, the intern at a New York City auction house who feigns a higher job status after she is upgraded to first class on her flight to London. During that flight, she impresses a wealthy young Englishman named William, played by Archie Renaux, who is connected to the high-society art world. The mix-up, the glamour and the romance made the original a word-of-mouth hit for the streamer, and the sequel looks set to raise the stakes with a Venice setting steeped in art, money and beautiful complications.
What We Know About Upgraded 2 So Far
Bibb stars alongside Mendes in the sequel, as previously announced, though full plot details beyond the Venice and Biennale connection are still under wraps. What is clear is the formula that worked the first time: an ambitious young woman out of her depth, a world of wealth she has to navigate on charm and quick thinking, and a romance that tests whether the truth can survive the fantasy.
Venice itself is practically a character in that kind of story. Canals, grand palazzi, gallery openings and a world-famous art exhibition give a rom-com plenty of room for mistaken identities, glamorous set pieces and emotional turning points. If the first Upgraded was about faking it until you make it, the sequel appears ready to ask what happens once the world you bluffed your way into starts watching you back.
Fans will now be watching for a first look, a trailer and a release window, but for now the headline news is simple: the cameras are rolling in Venice, Mendes is back as Ana, and the Biennale is not just a location, it is part of the story.
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Source: Variety — read the full story there.
