Jon Heder Says He'd Love to Do NAPOLEON DYNAMITE 2, But Says It Would Be 20 Years Later and Much Darker
The 2004 comedy Napoleon Dynamite is a rewatchable fan-favorite due to its super quotable lines and weird, understated humor. It featured the title protagonist, an awkward high-schooler named Napoleon (Jon Heder) who finds his way with the help of his friends, Pedro (Efren Ramirez) and Deb (Tina Majorino).
The film also featured Napoleon’s brother Kip (Aaron Ruell), Uncle Rico (Jon Gries), Kip’s internet girlfriend-turned-wife in the post-credits scene, Lafawnduh (Shondrella Avery), and a few other classmates and relatives that rounded out the perfect cast. The movie told a great story, and didn’t set up a sequel, but like with any other character-driven film, they could always return to tell us what the characters are up to now.
In a recent appearance at Pittsburgh's Steel City Con (via CB), Heder was asked about a potential sequel to the Jared Hess-directed comedy, and he responded:
"There's no official statement right now. Would you want a Napoleon sequel? You don't think it would be ruined? The track record for most of these old cult films getting a sequel or reboot is [iffy]… I personally would love to do more Napoleon stuff. I would love to."
He went on:
"I don't think the book of Napoleon is closed forever. I honestly think there's gonna be something — whether it's a sequel, or a TV show, or another animated [show]. Did you guys see the animated series? It's pretty good. That's your sequel, right there. We had the original cast back, it was awesome. It just goes to show that because we had that show, it means there's more out there I honestly think you could do."
Heder believed that with Disney’s acquisition of Fox a few years back, there’s even more potential for more Napoleon Dynamite story to be told. He explained:
"Now that Fox properties are owned by Disney, we know how Disney feels about cashing in on everything that's ever been made. So you never know. Maybe we'll be back. I honestly don't think it's dead. There's gotta be something."
But if we were to see the characters return, it would bring them up to date, and not be a return to their high school days:
"In my personal opinion, if there was a Napoleon sequel, it would have to be real time. We wouldn't do, 'It's senior year, and it's a bunch of 40-year-olds pretending they're still in high school.’ If it was coming from me — I don't know how much they're going to listen to me — but prepare yourselves, it's gonna be dark."
The actor then gave an impromptu pitch envisioning a middle-aged cast:
"Part of the charm of Napoleon is the innocence of youth. They're in high school, they don't have any real responsibility or accountability too much, it's all coming of age. Napoleon today would be: he's entered the workforce, he's got responsibility, he's paying for maybe one or two alimonies, child support for one of them.
“But it's great because it also gives our hero a very low place to start and he's got to win back Deb, maybe, and he's got to save Uncle Rico from prison, and Kip is actually roided-out from cage fighting. So Napoleon and Kip are getting there and Kip is tearing people up. I don't know, there's something there."
I’d watch that! Napoleon Dynamite is now streaming on HBO Max.
