Filming Complete on Sony Pictures' Groundhog Day Sequel

Culver City, CA - Sony Pictures Entertainment, the parent company of Columbia Pictures, has announced the completion of a reimagining of the beloved 90s comedy Groundhog Day that will focus on the character of Ned Ryerson during the events of the original film.

Method actor Rainn Wilson, shown here as Ned Ryerson, refused to break character for nearly three years, and even obtained an insurance license in Pennsylvania

"The original Groundhog Day was great and it connected with a lot of people," Sony Pictures Chairman Tony Vinciquerra explained. "But it left a lot of unanswered questions, and I think people will be interested in what we've come up with here."

Groundhog Day was one of the highest grossing movies of 1993, and it garnered widespread critical acclaim. The original was centered on the perspective of one character, Bill Murray's cynical weatherman Phil Connors. In the new film, the focus will shift to that of Ned Ryerson, the enigmatic insurance salesman played by actor Stephen Tobolowsky, who will make a cameo as Ryerson's alcoholic father. Over the years, the character of Ned Ryerson has developed somewhat of a cult following and has been featured in a number of fan written short stories, ebooks, and webisodes.

Actor Rainn Wilson, who was picked to play Ryerson in the update, has been uncharacteristically quiet when asked about script details, but didn't send us home completely empty handed. "So get this. Ned is stuck in his own time loop and he's on the run from the Time Force. He knew about what was going on with Phil the whole time but didn't want to blow his cover. Bing!"

A photo taken on the set of Groundhog Day: Ned vs. the Time Force showing members of the Time Force watching helplessly as Phil Connors kidnaps Punxsutawney Phil during the Gobbler's Knob Groundhog day celebration

But who is behind the time loop? Is it the Time Force, or are they merely trying to fix the problem and restore order? What is Larry the cameraman hiding? And what happens to the minds of the people who are forced to replay the same day over and over again without awareness or the ability to retain new memories and skills? Do they slowly become insane?

Are the events of the film even real at all, or are Ned and Phil simply a glitch in the program running a computer simulation designed to solve some great mystery? And if so, who designed that program? Is it aliens? Is Phil really God or just a god? These are the questions that were raised but largely ignored by the original film.