The news is in and sorry,Confess, Fletchfans, but it doesn’t look good. The sequel, which stars Jon Hamm in the classic Chevy Chase role, earnedless than $1 million with a production budget of around $20 million. The fact that it was released day-and-date on digital platforms simultaneously, with a fast Paramount+ turnaround, must not have helped either. And now the director of the cult comedy has confirmed what we suspected: there won’t be anotherFletchsequel anytime soon.
Confess, Fletch
After becoming the prime suspect in multiple murders, Fletch strives to prove his innocence. Kyle MacLachlan and Jon Hamm star.
Filmmaker Greg Mottola, who directed the 2022 film,has gone on X (formerly Twitter) to respondto a question about moreFletchmovies and let fans know the status of the franchise:
“Alas, the new head of Miramax, who controls the rights to all the books, shot down my sequel project. The Fletch curse got me.”
What Does This Mean for the Future of Fletch?
It appears that Miramax, the studio behind the film, has pulled the plug on the sequel. The decision marks a significant blow to the franchise’s revival, despite the positive critical reception—Confess, Fletchhas an86% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Confess, Fletchwas a passion project for Mottola andstar Jon Hamm, who played the title role. Based on Gregory McDonald belovedFletchnovels, the film’s goal was to reinvigorate the franchise and the character made famous by Chevy Chase in the 1985 comedyFletchand its sequel.Even Chevy got a sequel.
The film’s poor financial performance didn’t stop Hamm and Mottola from continuing their work to get the series off the ground. They werehard at work on the script to the sequel,Fletch’s Fortune, based on the 1978 novel. But then there was a shakeup at Miramax leading to Bill Block, their supporter, leaving the company.According to THR, Mottola was very depressed about it, saying:
“I was told ‘the first one lost money’ as if there had been any attempt to make money. Jon 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.”
He went on to criticize the marketing strategy forConfess, Fletch:
“They dropped it in theaters for a week with virtually no marketing, then stuck it on Showtime (with nary a billboard or commercial). It was essentially a streaming movie.”
Confess, Fletch Review: Jon Hamm Succeeds in Bringing Fletch to a New Generation
Fletch (Jon Hamm) is framed for a Boston murder while investigating an Italian art theft in Confess, Fletch.
Mottola is busy at work writing James Gunn’sPeacemakerSeason 2, so it looks like that window has closed. Earlier this year, Hamm, who was enthusiastic about the possible return before the Miramax shakeup, even said that he thought the fate of theFletchsequel was uncertain.
“We’re trying to make another one of those, and it’s hard. The movie didn’t break records at the box office, not that that means anything… Yeah, and there are 10 books, and we’re like, ‘Here’s the roadmap. Can we follow it? Please?'”
With theConfess, Fletchsequel dead in the water, fans will have to turn back to the books to relive previous adventures, or revisit the old Chevy Chase movies.
