WAITING TO EXHALE 2 (2025)

🎬 A 20th Century Studios Film
⭐ Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, Lela Rochon, Regina King, Viola Davis
🎥 Written & Directed by Forest Whitaker

“Sisterhood never fades — it evolves.”

🌅 The Return of a Generation

Thirty years after redefining the landscape of Black cinema and female friendship, Waiting to Exhale 2 (2025) reignites the legacy of Terry McMillan’s timeless story — a moving, funny, and profoundly human portrait of women who have learned that growing older doesn’t mean stopping the fight for joy, love, and freedom.

The film reunites four extraordinary women, each navigating life’s second act in a world that looks very different from the one they once knew — but with hearts that still beat to the same rhythm of laughter, strength, and sisterhood.

💖 The Story

When tragedy brings them together in Los Angeles — the same city where they once found each other amid the chaos of love and ambition — the women of Waiting to Exhale discover that time may have changed their circumstances, but not their connection.

Bernadine (Angela Bassett) has built a successful business empire and raised her children into adulthood. Yet as her nest empties, she faces a new kind of loneliness — one that success can’t fill. When she reconnects with her old friends, she’s forced to confront the truth about what she really wants now: not control, but peace.

Gloria (Loretta Devine) remains the heart of the group — wise, nurturing, and unfiltered. But after a health scare and the shifting dynamics of her family, she must learn to care for herself the way she’s always cared for everyone else.

Robin (Lela Rochon) has lived a life full of detours and lessons. Still radiant but more grounded, she now wrestles with the meaning of happiness in a world obsessed with youth. When she crosses paths with a younger man who challenges her views on love, she learns that passion has no expiration date.

Savannah (Regina King) — a career powerhouse whose sharp wit masks her lingering scars — must reconcile her public success with her private grief. A shocking revelation about her past forces her to rebuild the foundations of who she is and what she stands for.

And joining them is Viola Davis as Marcia Lewis, a best-selling author and radio personality who becomes both confidante and catalyst, helping the women rediscover their voices even as she hides her own pain.

Together, they laugh, fight, cry, and rediscover the rhythm of their bond — proving that while time changes everything, true sisterhood endures.

🌺 Themes of Growth, Resilience, and Renewal

Waiting to Exhale 2 is a soulful exploration of womanhood in its most authentic form — no longer defined by heartbreak, but by the healing that follows it. The film captures the complexity of aging with grace, humor, and defiance:

• Sisterhood as salvation — a reminder that friendship is the heartbeat that keeps us breathing when life takes our air away.
• Reinvention and rediscovery — as the women face midlife transitions, they reclaim parts of themselves long buried under duty, regret, and routine.
• Modern love and legacy — examining how relationships evolve in an age of independence, digital connection, and self-awareness.

Through laughter and tears, they learn that “exhaling” isn’t about letting go — it’s about living fully, breathing deeply, and embracing every part of who they’ve become.

🎬 Behind the Camera

Academy Award winner Forest Whitaker, who directed the original Waiting to Exhale (1995), returns to helm this emotional follow-up, bringing a sense of wisdom, warmth, and cinematic poetry to the next chapter. His direction captures not just the drama, but the rhythm of life — quiet moments between friends, the sound of laughter echoing through memory, the light falling on faces lined with experience and beauty.

The screenplay, co-written by Terry McMillan, blends heartfelt realism with sharp humor — honoring the original while expanding its themes for a new generation.

The film’s lush cinematography by Rachel Morrison (Mudbound, Black Panther) bathes Los Angeles in golden nostalgia, transforming everyday moments — a shared meal, a late-night drive, a rooftop dance under city lights — into reflections of resilience and love.

🎵 The Soundtrack Lives Again

No Waiting to Exhale film would be complete without its soul-stirring soundtrack. Building on Whitney Houston’s legendary musical legacy, Waiting to Exhale 2 features a new generation of voices — including H.E.R., Jazmine Sullivan, SZA, and Mary J. Blige — each interpreting the emotions of the story with raw, timeless power.

The lead single, “Still Breathing,” performed by H.E.R. and co-written by Babyface, serves as both tribute and anthem — an echo of the film’s core message:

“We’ve lost, we’ve loved, but we’re still here — breathing.”

💫 Why It Matters

• A long-awaited continuation of a film that defined an era of storytelling for Black women.
• A celebration of aging, friendship, and emotional honesty in an industry that rarely gives such stories their due.
• A masterclass in performance from one of the most powerful ensembles ever assembled on screen.
• A message of hope and renewal — not about starting over, but about continuing with grace.

🕊️ Final Words

Waiting to Exhale 2 (2025) is more than a sequel — it’s a reunion, a reckoning, and a rebirth. It honors the past while embracing the present, giving voice to the women who taught generations that strength doesn’t mean silence.

“The years pass. The love remains.”

With tears, laughter, and unshakable grace, these women remind the world that sisterhood is forever — and that exhaling isn’t the end of the story… it’s the beginning of the next breath.

🎞️ Coming Christmas 2025 | A 20th Century Studios Release
🎬 Written & Directed by Forest Whitaker
💛 Based on the works of Terry McMillan

“Because sometimes, to move forward… you just need to breathe.”