MTV News brings you a timeline of all the obstacles that once stood in the way of the now-greenlit sequel.
By Fallon Prinzivalli

Will Ferrell in "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy"
Photo: DreamWorks Pictures

Movie fans were overjoyed by Will Ferrell's announcement Wednesday night that "Anchorman 2" is finally happening.

The long journey since the release of the first film left us doubting whether a sequel would ever happen. With our doubts cast aside and our excitement on the rise, we've compiled a timeline of all the obstacles the team overcame to arrive at the ultimate destination.

August 14, 2008: Paul Rudd tells us he thinks "Anchorman" director Adam McKay and actor Will Ferrell were interested in doing a sequel. "Last I heard they were starting to write ['Anchorman 2']," Rudd says. The setting? Possibly the '80s or the moon.

May 27, 2009: Ferrell tells Aussie radio DJs Jono & Dana that he'll be meeting with the "Anchorman" creators to "figure out when and how" to get a sequel in the works.

August 28, 2009: In an interview with Empire magazine, "Anchorman" producer Judd Apatow suggests that in "Anchorman 2," Ron Burgundy, Brick Tamland and Brian Fantana will return as elderly men. "Those anchormen sometimes have their jobs until they're 75 years old," Apatow says.

September 1, 2009: Director McKay says that, due to the cast and crew's busy schedules, the sequel won't be available for another two years. He adds, "But we are definitely doing it." Whew.

April 6, 2010: Steve Carell confirms to our very own Josh Horowitz that the "Anchorman" cast "want[s] to do another one," but there is no script. "I don't think they've [even] decided on a story line yet," Carell says.

April 8, 2010: On the red carpet for his movie "Date Night," Carell lies about everything. He says "Anchorman 2" has already been shot in "just two days" while the cast was drunk. When asked if it was any good he says, "It's fantastic!" Honestly, with the talent in these comedians, we wouldn't be surprised if it was.

April 27, 2010: Adam McKay reveals that, aside from the actor's schedules, another holdup in the sequel is payment. Since the cast went on to become even more famous after the first movie, "Everybody's prices went up." Graciously, the cast agreed to take a pay cut, which is almost unheard of in Hollywood.

April 29, 2010: McKay dashes all our hopes and dreams in a single tweet: "So bummed. Paramount basically passed on Anchorman 2. Even after we cut our budget down. We tried."

May 3, 2010: Hope is restored! As it turns out, Paramount is eager to film the sequel. Deadline reports, however, the "Anchorman" team is forced to regroup as they have a budget gap of $30 million to overcome.

June 6, 2010: With financial issues in the way, Paul Rudd jokes that if "Anchorman 2" doesn't happen, "We'll look to do 'Anchorman 3.' "

July 19, 2010: Yet again, it seems as if "Anchorman 2" is never going to happen. The saddest part? Neither is the proposed "Anchorman" musical. A few days later, Christina Applegate says she feels let down by the news.

May 2, 2011: All hope is officially lost when Ferrell tells Collider that the sequel "is a brick wall right now" and they're "playing around with the idea" of a "Step Brothers" sequel instead.

And suddenly...

March 28, 2012: Ferrell announces on "Conan" that "Anchorman 2" is officially happening with the original director, Adam McKay, and most of the principal castmembers, including Steve Carell and Paul Rudd. The stars have aligned. It's finally happening. Cue celebration!

Check out everything we've got on "Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy."

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