John Tucker's journey to potentially becoming John Doe takes an unexpected turn, as Arielle Kebbel has temporarily halted the progress of the iconic 2006 film's sequel. Nearly two years after confirming the sequel with her former co-stars, Jesse Metcalfe, and Sophia Bush, she announced that the project has hit a snag.
During an episode of Kaitlyn Bristowe's Off the Vine podcast on February 19th, Arielle explained that she had been producing for a few years and that one of her first projects was the sequel to John Tucker. The entire cast was onboard, and they had even worked with the studio for a while before getting a script right before the writers' strike in September 2023.
However, once the writers' strike ended, the timeline started to slow down, and the project's slate changed drastically. "That's just the game with studios and the film business," Arielle noted. "But it got shelved, which is not a permanent thing, but it is not currently active."
Despite this discouraging update, Arielle remains hopeful that the reboot will eventually see the light of day. "The moment will come," she said. "But it's on pause for now."
The Aquamarine alum also shared that John Tucker might have a redemption arc in the sequel, which Jesse Metcalfe, who portrayed the titular character, seemed excited about. "I'm here for it," he joked during a group panel at Epic Cons Chicago that year. "I can't wait to unleash this dad bod on the big screen."
Jesse, who also starred in Desperate Housewives, previously expressed his pride in the film being lauded as a cult classic. "I feel like it's the kind of movie that's really been passed down through the generations," he told Too Fab in March 2021. "I'm quite proud of the movie. I actually think it was really well done and well directed by Betty Thomas."
In conclusion, while the future of the John Tucker sequel is uncertain, fans can take comfort in the fact that the cast and crew are still passionate about bringing this beloved story to the big screen once again.
