Watch a preview of the raunchier cut of Anchorman 2

Thought Ron Burgundy was overexposed before? Wait till you see him give a musical performance in the nude...

Anchorman 2
(Image credit: (Screen shot))

If you missed Anchorman 2 last December, Paramount is giving you another chance — but unlike most re-releases, you won't be seeing the same movie that hit theaters a few months ago. Director Adam McKay has prepared a new cut of the film under the unwieldy title Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: Super-Sized R-Rated Version — and starting on February 28, you'll have just one week to see it if you want to catch it in theaters.

The big hook here is the film's 763 new jokes, which are apparently raunchier this time around (The original Anchorman 2 was rated PG-13, this recut version is rated R.) This new trailer gives fans a glimpse at what some of that content entails, including a more risque riff on Brick's green screen gag and a nude musical performance by Ron Burgundy and his team.

How did such a bizarre release come about? "We started talking and realized, we can replace every single joke in the movie with another joke," says director Adam McKay at The New York Times. "There are tons of leftover alternate takes when we shoot; that's our method." There is a precedent for this revised version of Anchorman 2; the original Anchorman received a DVD-only alternate cut, titled Wake Up, Ron Burgundy: The Lost Movie, that included an entire excised subplot about bank robbers.

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Will audiences care enough about Ron Burgundy's unseen antics to trek to the theater for another round? We'll find out when Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues: Super-Sized R-Rated Version hits theaters next week.

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Scott Meslow

Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.