Over the last few days, reports have been spreading online that a Napoleon Dynamite sequel is in development at Fox Searchlight Pictures. As it tends to happen on social media, one account posted speculation about the project, which led to other accounts reposting the “news,” and ultimately the information morphed to seem like a sequel to the indie classic really was happening.
In fact, RELEVANT was working on a piece announcing the surprising news when upon further research we found that unfortunately, it looks like the project is actually not happening—at least not yet.
From what we can tell, the whole story started because last Friday, Puck reporter Matt Belloni shared in his weekly newsletter that with the 20th anniversary of Napolean Dynamite upon us this year, the rights to the movie are about to revert. He wondered if that would stir up any interest in a sequel, either from the original cast and crew or elsewhere if a new studio acquired it.
That’s it — Belloni never implied that a sequel was actually happening; he merely pointed out that a sequel was now possible since the rights to the IP are coming available. The internet just took that and did what the internet does.
But while there are no concrete plans yet, that doesn’t mean our hopes are squashed like Napoleon’s tots. Director Jared Hess, fresh off his success with A Minecraft Movie, has previously expressed interest in a sequel. Additionally, stars Jon Heder and Efren Ramirez—Napoleon and Pedro, respectively—have also said they’d be on board for a sequel to the cult classic. Heder has said he’d only return if Hess was involved.
In an October 2024 interview with ComicBook, Ramirez shared that “everyone wants a sequel,” adding, “I can say this, legally, that the door’s not closed yet.” He also hinted that there’s more story to tell.
“When you have a really good story, whether you make a prequel or a sequel, you can really explore the depths of these characters—where they would be, or where they came from, or what led them to be where they’re at,” he said.
For now, we’ll save our nunchuck skills for another day.
