Fans of the Fletch franchise might need to console themselves with a steak sandwich or two.
Greg Mottola, who directed the 2022 feature Confess, Fletch, took to social media to give an update about his planned sequel to the film that starred Jon Hamm as Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher. Hailing from Miramax, Mottola’s movie rebooted the character that originated in author Gregory Mcdonald’s novel series and was memorably played by Chevy Chase in the 1985 comedy Fletch and its sequel four years later.
After film critic Bilge Ebiri posted this week on X (formerly Twitter) that Hollywood should make more Fletch movies, Mottola pointed out that his sequel to Confess, Fletch was no longer in development, with the director attributing the setback to a change of leadership at Miramax. At the time of the Confess, Fletch release, Mottola said in an interview that he had already been hired to write a follow-up based on Mcdonald’s 1978 novel Fletch’s Fortune that is set in the world of journalism.
“Alas, the new head of Miramax, who controls the rights to all the books, shot down my sequel project,” replied Mottola, who is also known for helming Superbad. “The Fletch curse got me.”
He continued, “I was told ‘the first one lost money’ — as if there had been any attempt to make money. Jon [Hamm] was very into the new script. I’ve been rather depressed about it, but hard to expect a good break in the feature world these days.”
Miramax is currently led by CEO Jonathan Glickman, who took the role after Bill Block exited late last year, and according to Mottola, this transition hurt the sequel’s prospects. “It was bad luck for me that Bill Block got fired,” Mottola posted. The director also wrote, “I got caught in the changing of the guard, and my comedy is too dry and unsentimental for the new masters.”
After a social media user noted that the film underperformed at the box office, Mottola agreed but said that he was did not appreciate its marketing strategy. “Yes, but they dropped it in theaters for a week with virtually no marketing, then stuck it on Showtime (with nary a billboard or commercial),” Mottola wrote. “It was essentially a streaming movie.” He also lamented that “feature comedy is having a rough time.”
A source with knowledge of the situation tells The Hollywood Reporter that Miramax granted the filmmakers an opportunity to set up the sequel elsewhere. This window to shop the project has since expired.
Hamm told THR this spring that he was game to reprise the role but acknowledged that prospects were cloudy. Focused on the actor’s character being accused of murder while trying to track down missing artwork, Confess, Fletch co-starred John Slattery, Roy Wood Jr. and Marcia Gay Harden.
“We’re trying to make another one of those, and it’s hard,” Hamm explained. “The movie didn’t break records at the box office, not that that means anything.” When asked if there was a script for the sequel, he added, “Yeah, and there are 10 books, and we’re like, ‘Here’s the roadmap. Can we follow it? Please?’”
