Update #2: The Wrap reports that the Ferrell/Wiig Lifetime movie is still very much happening, according to various sources with knowledge about the project. It seems we may have been correct in thinking that Ferrell’s statement about scrapping the project due to an early news leak was nothing more than a joke.

Update #1: In a statement to EW, Will Ferrell reveals that plans for his Lifetime movie with Kristen Wiig have been scrapped thanks to the early news leak. Ferrell says, “We are deeply disappointed that our planned top secret project was made public. Kristen and I have decided it is in the best interest for everyone to forego the project entirely, and we thank Lifetime and all the people who were ready to help us make this film.”

Given Ferrell’s proclivity for humor, it’s hard to take that statement at face value. It actually sounds like the actor might be trying to throw people off. We wouldn’t put too much stock into this statement, which could be part of Ferrel and Wiig’s whole plan.

The original story continues below…

You know the Lifetime Original Movie formula: heinous crime, family melodrama, over-acting and maudlin theatrics. Somewhere, there must be a Mad Lib form floating around the Lifetime offices in case they run out of steam. In what sounds like a ridiculous April Fools’ Day joke, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig have combined their considerable comedic talents to take on that very formula — yes, really.

THR reports that Ferrell and Wiig filmed a secret movie for Lifetime, described as “campy and fun and a contemporary wink at the genre,” which will likely air this summer, celebrating the 25th anniversary of Lifetime’s entry into the original movie business.

The film is called A Deadly Adoption (which totally sounds like a real Lifetime Original!), and stars Ferrell and Wiig as a successful, well-to-do couple who offer their home to a young pregnant woman (90210 star Jessica Lowndes) whose unborn child they hope to adopt. Things will, of course, go horribly wrong, as these things often do on Lifetime, whose original films typically follow a “ripped from the headlines” approach.

Ferrell and Adam McKay produced the two-hour television movie through their Gary Sanchez banner, and as THR notes, Ferrell has always been a fan of Lifetime’s original films, so the actor knows a thing or two (or 10) about the genre. In addition, Ferrell produces and stars in IFC’s similarly spoof-y The Spoils of Babylon, a riff on epic, soapy TV miniseries events. That series was recently renewed for a second season.

A Deadly Adoption doesn’t have a release date just yet, but expect it to land sometime over the summer.

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