‘The Hangover Part III’ Moving Closer To A Summer Shoot, Memorial Day 2013 Release Being Eyed

The Wolfpack is (almost) back. Following the over $580 million worldwide succes of the R-rated comedy sequel, Warner Bros. are very eager to get Bradley Cooper, Zach Galifianakis and Ed Helms back for the third and final installment. And they are willnig to pay big bucks to make it happen.

THR reports that the trio of actors are standing by each other, each asking for $15 million (against backend) to star in the film, and it's hardly an unfair request. For the first film, the boys were paid less than $1 million each, while the latter netted them about $5 million (plus bonuses, putting their tally in the mid-teens). Now for the final adventure, which really can't be made without them, they want a pay bump to match the outsized success of the franchise. And really, WB are in no position to argue at this point. With "Akira," "Arthur & Lancelot," and "Paradise Lost" on the rocks at the moment (the latter originally set to star Cooper), they're likely looking for a big money winner to pad out their 2013 slate, and this would be it (in addition to "Man of Steel," which isn't necessarily guaranteed to be a smash — please see "Superman Returns").

The third entry has been in the works pretty much since the second movie came out, with Bradley Cooper recently revealing the series will finish in Los Angeles and that a September shoot was being eyed. The timeline has been moved up a bit, as Warner Bros. wants this in front of cameras in the summer and are looking at a Memorial Day 2013 release to duplicate the success of "The Hangover Part II." Should that pan out, they'd be facing another mega franchise entry in Universal's "Fast & Furious 6," which is also riding a huge high. Who will win out? Drunks or gearheads?

And for those of you bummed that the second movie was pretty much a carbon copy of the first, it seems 'Part III' will change gears a bit. "If we were to do a third one…I think we have a very clear idea where that would head," director Todd Phillips said last year. "It’s certainly not in the same template that you’ve seen these movies. The third would be very much a finale and an ending. The most I could say about it, what’s in my head, and I haven’t discussed it with these actors, is that it is not following that template but very much a new idea."

Either way, this is also looking like it's coming together with a deal with the actors said to be an inevitability at this point. No word on Phillips, but presumably he's making his own equally lucrative deal as well. So forget your passports, the Wolfpack is coming back home.