Jon Heder turned down the opportunity to do a Napoleon Dynamite sequel. Heder is most known for his role as the titular Napoleon Dynamite in the 2004 smash comedy. Although the film was made with an extremely small budget (Heder reportedly only made $1000 for his starring role), it was a box office hit– earning over $40 million. The film was co-written by Jerusha and Jared Hess, and directed by Jared Hess, and has become one of the most iconic comedies from the early 2000s.
In an interview with Michael Rosenbaum on his podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, Heder said a sequel was in talks at some point, but he turned down the opportunity. According to the actor, Fox Searchlight Pictures was trying to adapt a sequel despite the disinterest of the original director Jared Hess. Heder didn’t want to continue the project without Hess– so the project never happened. Read what Heder said below.
We didn’t even think about a sequel. Nobody was even asking [for a] sequel in the beginning. It wasn’t until probably later that year or the year after when my agents were like, ‘Fox wants to do a sequel. Would you be willing to do a sequel without Jared?’
I think they were asking because they were probably feeling like, ‘Oh I don’t know if Jared is gonna be up for this.’ He might’ve already said no. I don’t know.
I said ‘No I wouldn’t do one without Jared.’ Because [Napoleon Dynamite] was Jared’s. This was his life growing up in Preston, Idaho. It was very personal to him….To do a sequel without him was just… it made no sense.”
Could a Napoleon Dynamite Sequel Still Happen?
As Heder points out, Napoleon Dynamite was loosely based on Hess’s life growing up in Idaho. Without Hess, a proper sequel will never happen. Following the success of Napoleon Dynamite, Hess went on to make other successful comedies such as Nacho Libre (2006) and Masterminds (2016). In 2020, Heder said that he’d be open to doing another film if Hess wanted to, but so far the director doesn’t seem interested.
Heder being unwilling to film a sequel without Hess shows his gratefulness to be included in a unique moment in popular culture. The movie that exploded in the early 2000s continues to stand on its own without being tarnished by diminishing sequels. Napoleon Dynamite did briefly return as an animated series and notably included Hess as an Executive Producer.
Napoleon Dynamite is one of the best comedy films ever made – especially when considering its small budget. A sequel probably isn’t the best idea for a film that is already so widely loved and still regularly referenced to this day. As Rosenbaum and Heder briefly discuss in the podcast, sequels are simply never as good as their originals. This is especially true for comedies. Still, it would be pretty great to see Napoleon Dynamite return to the big screen, in all of his “flippin’ sweet” glory.
Source: Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum / YouTube