Nearly 20 years ago, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? debuted in theaters. Today, it still stands the test of time with a third installment of the franchise, Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married Again?
Much like the world has evolved since the original film stormed the box office on Oct. 12, 2007, so has the storyline of a group of friends who take an annual retreat to celebrate and face the realities of marriage.
“I feel like we’re almost cheating,” Michael Jai White told AfroTech Culture. “What the audience is seeing, you’re seeing real relationships. I’ve known almost everybody before we even started filming. You’re watching something real. You’re watching something unique because you never really have [seen] this anywhere that I can even think of in the cinematic universe.”
He added, “You’re watching the maturation of these characters, and it’s just going on screen. You’re growing with us. That’s something that we look forward to. I was just so happy when Tyler [Perry] started getting us all back together, and I think the audience is going to see the result of that.”
On building real equity and not just booking the next job
There is something unique about being a character within a franchise. Not only do you become someone who fans either hate or love, but there is a sense of career longevity that comes with making a sequel to a film, let alone a third installment of the movie.
“I think the real equity is appreciating the investment that Tyler has made in us and in this particular franchise. But I also think there’s the investment the other way around, and having been somebody, I mean, even Mike’s talked about how early he was a part of this entire experiment,” said Lamman Rucker. “At that point, it really was an experiment, right? So the fact that we’ve had both the opportunity, responsibility, but also the privilege to really be a part of something that has become a cornerstone of the entire Tyler Perry empire also really speaks to something.”
“It’s pretty amazing the power of this franchise,” Sharon Neal noted. “It is a cultural phenomenon. It is something that they love, we love, and it’s just taught me the power of… I mean, the movie is so universal. It’s so relatable, and all of that good energy, and just kind of the bringing together of people and the culture. It’s bigger and more powerful than I think I even realized when we first started doing it.”
A touchpoint for the culture
In October 2024, Richard T. Jones, whose character Mike is notoriously disliked by fans for how the first film treated Jill Scott’s Sheila, kicked off a series of nostalgic posts with the cast that sparked an online frenzy.
Before we knew it, Perry confirmed that the beloved characters would soon return to the screen.
Known for his rise to stardom through stage plays, Perry has since become an entertainment mogul. He is a part of the small percentage of Black people who have achieved billionaire status in America, and in 2019, he became the first Black person to own a major film studio without corporate backers, partners and outside investors.
Today, he is in a major creative partnership with Netflix that spans feature films like the newly released Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? and Tyler Perry’s Doing Life, as well as television series like, Tyler Perry’s Beauty in Black.
“It’s important to know that the stories that are told in certain communities, they embrace the world,” said Jones. “I think one thing about Why Did I Get Married? is that it is one of those things that any culture, any type of people, color, it doesn’t matter, people can relate to it, and that is something that Tyler did well when it comes to this particular franchise. It’s one of those franchises that speaks to every culture, so it’s good to be a part of that.”
Newcomer to the Why Did I Get Married? universe, but no stranger to the world of Tyler Perry, Taraji P. Henson has often vocalized how it was Perry who paid her a reputable amount as an actress that other studios weren’t really offering, even at the peak of her career.
As a fan of the franchise, she notes that she was a little nervous to join as the new character Roselyn.
“I was a little nervous because the audience, they’re not clamoring to see me, they want to catch up with the character that they fell in love with, so I was a little nervous at first,” said Henson. “But what an amazing group of people. This cast made me feel welcome, made me feel like I was a part of the family since the first installment. So I enjoyed myself. It was a great time, and I’m honored to be a part of such a memorable piece of cinematography.”
For the new generation getting acclimated to the Why Did I Get Married? universe, Tasha Smith has one request.
“The first thing I want them to do is look at the first one and the second one, and then look at the third one, and just enjoy these stories,” she said. “Enjoy these people. Enjoy the new generation of storytelling that Tyler welcomed into this film, have fun, and laugh a lot.”
