There's no doubt about it: A sequel to the beloved film Mrs. Doubtfire is off the table.
On Monday, Dec. 6, the film's director, Chris Columbus, attended the SF Film Awards in San Francisco and shared that it would be "impossible" to develop a sequel without the "one-of-a-kind" Robin Williams in the lead role.
"It's impossible. It's just impossible," he told SF Gate. "I just was reading a lot of reviews, ironically, today about the Broadway show. And this guy who's playing him is supposedly very energetic and phenomenal. But he's no Robin."
However, Columbus revealed that a sequel to the film very nearly happened. The last time the director met with the legendary comedic actor, who died in 2014, was to discuss plans for a potential sequel.
"We had a script, and it was a great script," he said. "Robin was prepared to do it. And then, unfortunately, he passed away."
In the 1993 film, Williams portrays the hilarious, heartfelt Daniel Hillard, a recently divorced father living in San Francisco. When he learns that his ex-wife is searching for a housekeeper, he pretends to be a nanny named Mrs. Doubtfire in order to spend more time with his three children.
According to Columbus, Williams also played another key role in the film, in addition to his delightful characters. He and the film's producer Marsha Garces Williams, who was Robin's wife from 1989 to 2010, were the first to pitch the idea of setting the story in San Francisco.
Initially, Columbus said he was a bit hesitant. "I had only been to San Francisco for two days in my life up until that point," he explained. "I said, 'Well, let me take a look around the city and get a visual idea of whether or not it works for the movie.'"
Within a week, he was on board with Robin's decision, adding, "[I] got inspired by so many great locations within a week and said, 'Yeah, let's shoot this in San Francisco.'"
In fact, he loved the location so much that he decided the film would become a "partial love letter to the city as well," with memorable scenes shot all across the city and the Bay Area.