2) is a 2016 American action comedy film co-produced and directed by Ben Stiller who wrote the script alongside Justin Theroux, John Hamburg, and Nicholas Stoller.

New cast members include Penélope Cruz, Kristen Wiig, Cyrus Arnold, Fred Armisen, Kyle Mooney, Jon Daly, Sting, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

It was dedicated to the memory of Drake Sather, who co-created the character of Derek Zoolander and was a writer on the first film, having died in March 2004.

Agent Valentina Valencia of Interpol's fashion division examines the expressions of recently assassinated pop singers' last images and believes they match Derek Zoolander's signature look, "Blue Steel".

A flashback via news reports reveals that the Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good collapsed, killing Derek's wife Matilda Jeffries and injuring his former rival turned best friend Hansel McDonald two days after opening while Jacobim Mugatu was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences for his attempted assassination of the Malaysian Prime Minister in the first film with co-conspirator and Derek's agent Maury Ballstein turning states evidence and disappearing into the Witness Protection Program.

He, Derek, and Valentina go to the church and meet with Sting, who tells them the tale of Adam and Eve and the little-known Steve, a secret that many popstars have died to protect.

Derek, Hansel, and Valentina successfully stop Mugatu from proceeding and he reveals that he actually brought together the world's fashion designers to kill them as revenge for his imprisonment.

Alexanya, who is actually Mugatu's henchwoman Katinka Ingabogovinananananana in disguise, attacks Valentina, and they start "sexy fighting" while Mugatu reveals to Derek that he was behind the destruction of the Derek Zoolander Center For Kids Who Can't Read Good by having the construction crew build the base with faulty materials.

[18] By February 2010, Justin Theroux, who also co-wrote Tropic Thunder with Stiller, was hired to write and direct the sequel.

[21] On the December 17, 2010 episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Owen Wilson said a Zoolander sequel would likely be made, tentatively titled Twolander.

[22] In January 2011, Stiller confirmed that the script had been completed, and described the plot: "It's ten years later and most of it is set in Europe... it's basically Derek and Hansel... though the last movie ended on a happy note a lot of things have happened in the meantime.

"[25] By November 20, 2014, Penélope Cruz had joined the cast,[26] and by January 29, 2015, Christine Taylor was confirmed to reprise her role as Matilda Jeffries.

[28] On March 10, 2015, Stiller and Wilson appeared at the Paris Fashion Week in character as Derek Zoolander and Hansel McDonald.

[31] In May 2015, Stiller revealed via Instagram the casting of Kyle Mooney, Beck Bennett, and Nathan Lee Graham.

During the London premiere, Stiller set the Guinness World Record for the longest selfie stick, at 8.56 meters (28 feet, 1 inch) long.

[45] In a December 7, 2015 interview with The Wrap, Justin Theroux said of the transgender boycott, stating that it "hurts my feelings", comparing it to the 2008 protest by disabled groups of the film Tropic Thunder for Robert Downey Jr.'s character's repeated use of the word "retard".

[53] Appearing on David Duchovny's Fail Better podcast in April 2024, Stiller said the negative reaction was "blindsiding" to him and that "it definitely affected [him] for a long time".

2 has more celebrity cameos than laughs – and its meager handful of memorable gags outnumbers the few worthwhile ideas discernible in its scattershot rehash of a script.

"[57] Justin Chang of Variety gave it a negative review: "The results may delight those who believe recycled gags and endless cameos to be the very essence of great screen comedy, but everyone else will likely recognize Stiller’s wannabe Magnum opus as a disappointment-slash-misfire, the orange mocha crappuccino of movie sequels.