Jack Black teases School of Rock sequel: ‘I’m ready’
Jack Black has said he is ready to make a School of Rock sequel and wants Mike White, the brains behind HBO’s The White Lotus, back to write it.
Black plays Dewey Flint, a fledgling guitarist-turned-substitute teacher, in the 2003 musical comedy alongside fellow stars Joan Cusack, Mike White and Sarah Silverman. White also wrote the script.
Flint quickly notices the musical talent of his 10-year-old students and forms a rock band in an attempt to win the prestigious Battle of the Bands contest.
“I wish there’d be a School Of Rock 2 Electric Boogaloo. I’m ready,” Black said in an interview with JOE, referencing the title of the 1984 dance film sequel Breakin’ 2: Electric Boogaloo.
Despite being a commerical success making over $130m worldwide, School of Rock never had a sequel. The film did inspire a Broadway adaptation in 2015 while Nickelodeon also created an unrelated television spin-off, which ran for three seasons.
He added: “You know Mike White wrote the first one and he’s a genius.
“And we’d have to have Mike White back in the saddle, but he’s real busy right now with [The] White Lotus, the best show on TV”.
While plot details of the potential sequel were not discussed, the 2003 film left off with a cheery Battle of the Bands victory. Dewey becomes a regular music tutor in the wake of his success and the rock band are flooded with record deal offers.
The public attention School of Rock received also resulted in some young cast members being bullied, it emerged following a 20th anniversary retrospective of the film in Rolling Stone.
Stars who spoke out about negative experiences included Joey Gaydos Jr, who played lead guitarist Zack “Zack-Attack” Mooneyham, and Rivkah Reyes, the rock band’s bassist.
Reyes said she felt “really, really sick and really, really mentally unwell and using anything I could to feel nothing” for a decade following the film’s success. She is now five years sober and back to work as an actor.
Before the bullying experiences emerged, Jack Black had told Entertainment Tonight that School of Rock was “the highlight of my career”.
Kevin Clark, the drummer for The School of Rock band in the original film, died in 2021 after being hit by a car while cycling.
Black recently reprised his leading role as Po in Kung Fu Panda 4, which is leading box office charts and comes to UK cinemas next week, 28 March.