Heavy/Hallmark Tyler Hynes, Paul Campbell, and Andrew Walker in 2022's "Three Wise Men and a Baby"
Longtime Hallmark star Andrew Walker has made a bold prediction for the holidays. On June 8, 2024, he told People that the upcoming sequel to Hallmark Channel’s 2022 smash hit “Three Wise Men and a Baby” will be “better than the first one.”
That’s a tall order, given that the first flick was so popular that it became the most-watched cable movie of 2022, per Deadline. But Walker, who co-stars with fellow Hallmark fan-favorites Paul Campbell and Tyler Hynes as a trio of brothers in both movies, thinks the sequel is so full of action and comedy that they have another hit on their hands.
That’s not to say that the movie was a breeze to make. Walker told People that there was a lot of pressure not to “let the fans down.”
“I’ll tell you, it was a mountain,” he told People. “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure.”
Andrew Walker Says Cast Problem Solved Throughout Filming to Enhance Scenes in Sequel
HallmarkAndrew Walker stars as a firefighter who has to take care of an abandoned baby in “Three Wise Men and a Baby”
When news broke on April 25 that a much-requested sequel was in the works, titled “Three Wiser Men and a Kid,” Walker told Heavy how excited he was as they wrapped up filming.
“This was an incredibly ambitious film,” he said. “We wanted to bring the fans something extra special and I think we exceeded our expectations. It’s got all the heart, humor and charm of the first one and then some. And don’t worry, we’ve got plenty of callbacks to all the fan favorite comments coming your way.”
Inspired by the 1987 hit movie “Three Men and a Baby,” the huge response to “Three Wise Men and a Baby” was fueled by the comedic chemistry of Hynes, Walker and Campbell as the Brenner brothers. From a choreographed dance number in elf costumes to hijinks with a baby temporarily placed in their care, the movie melted millions of Hallmarkies’ hearts.
Almost immediately after the movie premiered, fans were asking for more. Campbell, who wrote the movie with fellow actor and screenwriter Kimberley Sustad, played coy in interviews about a possible follow-up movie, even saying at one time that Hallmark “doesn’t do” sequels.
Part of the hesitancy was the pressure on sequels to be as well-received as the first movie, or better.
“I’ll tell you, it was a mountain,” Walker told People about the pressure to succeed. “It wasn’t easy, that’s for sure. It was not an easy feat. We were going into this, we all had high expectations of this sequel and of ourselves, and we don’t want to let the fans down.”
Walker continued, “I think it was just a lot of pressure and it was a lot of us not feeling the pressure, but just, we were problem solving.”
But the trio bonded even more under that weight, working together to improvise funny lines and sharpen each scene.
“Every minute between every scene, we would huddle and talk through it, and it was basically the funniest joke wins,” he told People. “We would just tell each other, ‘Okay, what about this?’ and ‘What if I try that?’ and ‘What if you do this over here and come into the scene saying this?'”
Walker, who also stars in Hallmark’s “Curious Caterer” mystery franchise, told People it was a thrill to get to film a rare sequel with Campbell, 44, and Hynes, 38, who happens to be his wife Cassandra Troy’s first cousin.
“We don’t really get that opportunity in Hallmark, so to be able to do this with Tyler and Paul on top of it, it was just amazing,” Walker told People. “Not a day passed that we didn’t give each other a hug and just tell each other how incredible of an experience this is for us.”
Andrew Walker Says ‘3 Wise Men’ Sequel is Like a ‘James Bond Christmas Movie’
Hallmark“Three Wise Men and a Baby” cast including Paul Campbell, Kimberley Sustad, Andrew Walker and Tyler Hynes
According to a synopsis released by Hallmark in April, the sequel takes place five years after the original movie ended, as the Brenner brothers — Luke (Walker), Taylor (Hynes) and Stephan (Campbell) — prepare for another Christmas together that now includes Luke’s five-year-old son Thomas, played by Miles Marthaller.
In his interview with People, Walker was able to provide a bit more detail about what fans can expect when the movie premieres during Hallmark’s “Countdown to Christmas” programming, which typically runs from October through December.
“It’s basically like a James Bond Christmas movie,” he told the outlet. “It’s so ambitious. We take the viewers to so many different locations.”
Walker also promised there will be dancing, much to fans’ delight. In the 2022 movie, the trio loosely choreographed a tongue-in-cheek dance routine that went viral, and even replicated the number at Christmas Con in 2023.
“”You’re going to get a few of the fun dances and potentially some songs that we did in the first movie, so there’s a bit of the old, a lot of new, and the jokes and the heart of the movie is just … it’s amazing,” Walker told People.
“I feel like it’s a funnier — almost in different ways — more heartfelt movie,” he added.
To tide fans over until the holiday season, an extended cut version of “Three Wise Men and a Baby” will air during Hallmark Channel’s “Christmas in July” programming event, on July 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern time.