The Big Picture
Although Richard Linklater is best known for his work in independent features like Slacker, Boyhood, and Dazed and Confused, he managed to reach a much broader audience with his 2003 family film School of Rock. Paired with an excellent screenplay by future The White Lotus writer Mike White and one of Jack Black’s most endearing performances, School of Rock became the one Linklater film that managed to reach beyond the arthouse crowd. The film has since been regarded as a modern classic and even inspired an acclaimed Broadway musical of the same name. However, School of Rock was also nearly the first film in a comedy franchise that featured the return of Black’s Dewey Finn.
What Happened to ‘School of Rock 2’?
Five years after School of Rock’s release, Variety reported that Paramount Pictures was moving forward with a potential School of Rock sequel that would’ve featured Dewey taking a class of new students on a cross-country road trip to learn about the history of rock and roll. Mike White had penned a screenplay titled School of Rock 2: America Rocks, which he planned to produce. Richard Linklater was once again set to direct, but there was no confirmation as to any other returning cast members. Although it’s likely that White would return as Ned Schneebly (the character Dewey impersonates), a new cast of kids meant that none of the younger characters from the first film would need to make an appearance.
At the time, it made sense that all three men would be interested in developing a potential franchise. Although Black was coming off of a series of critically acclaimed dramatic performances in King Kong, The Holiday, and Margot at the Wedding, he hadn’t been as successful with his live-action comedies. Similarly, Linklater had struck out with audiences with his remake of The Bad News Bears and Fast Food Nation. Both men needed a major hit, but they both eventually found success with a series of projects they did in the immediate aftermath.
2008 proved to be a transformative year for Jack Black thanks to his role voicing the titular character in Dreamworks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda franchise, which continues to this day. He may have been looking to attract a younger audience with a potential School of Rock sequel, but the failure of family-friendly comedies like Gullivar’s Travels and Nacho Libre suggested that Black was better suited for R-rated fare. Although he never returned to play Dewey again, Black did collaborate with Linklater once more for the 2011 black comedy Bernie, which earned him some of the best reviews of his career.
Although Richard Linklater attempted to court a mainstream audience once more with Me and Orson Welles, he soon returned to his independent sensibilities. The success of Before Midnight and Boyhood (both of which earned him Academy Award nominations) proved that Linklater worked better when handling more mature material. Although he went on to direct the acclaimed comedies Everybody Wants Some and Where’d You Go, Bernadette?, neither film was successful on the level of School of Rock.
Will ‘School of Rock 2’ Ever Happen?
Jack Black revealed in a 2012 interview with Page Six that he had “tried really hard to get all the pieces together” for School of Rock 2: America Rocks, but that development of the sequel had unfortunately stalled. He stated that he “wouldn’t want to do it” without the involvement of both Linklater and White and that the trio “never all got together and saw eye-to-eye on what the script would be.” Although he glumly noted that the sequel “was not meant to be, unfortunately,” he did hint to say “never say never” about its revival.
School of Rock’s popularity skyrocketed in 2013 when Andrew Lloyd Webber bought the rights to the film in order to turn it into a stage musical. The School of Rock musical debuted in 2014 to rapturous reviews and followed up its Broadway run with tours in the U.K., Argentina, Ireland, and Australia. School of Rock was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Actor in a Musical for Alex Brightman, who replaced Black as Dewey.
Jack Black recently stated in an interview with Sirius XM that sequels to both School of Rock and Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny were in development, but it does appear that he was joking. However, it’s not like School of Rock has been forgotten; Black intends to unite with the younger cast members for a 20-year anniversary tribute to the first film’s cultural legacy. With younger audiences now discovering the film for the first time, there’s more reason than ever for a sequel to move forward.
Why ‘School of Rock 2’ Could Work
School of Rock is more popular than ever right now, and so a sequel isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. Richard Linklater has continued to be very successful with his most recent films, with his new action thriller Hit Man earning rave reviews at the Venice Film Festival. White has transformed into one of the most important writer-directors of the generation thanks to his work on HBO’s groundbreaking anthology series The White Lotus, and Black’s vocal performance as Bowser in this year’s The Super Mario Brothers Movie was utterly delightful. All three men are at a stage in their careers where they have the freedom to do what they’re truly passionate about; if that’s a School of Rock sequel, then so be it!
Both comedy sequels and legacy sequels are difficult, and no one wants to see a School of Rock continuation that falls flat on its face like Coming 2 America or 2015’s Vacation. However, Linklater has proven with the Before trilogy that sometimes sequels work best if they’re released long after their predecessor’s release; the time between installments in the romantic film saga allowed Linklater to develop more mature storylines featuring Celeste (Julie Delpy) and Jesse (Ethan Hawke). School of Rock doesn’t necessarily need a sequel, but one that reunited Black, White, and Linklater for the first time in two decades would certainly be exciting.
