Harold & Kumar 4 is being written, and John Cho already knows the catch: weed is legal now
Good news for Harold and Kumar 4 from John Cho — and a tease of where the story’s headed.
If you thought the Harold & Kumar series was done and dusted, think again. Out of nowhere, we've got fresh signs of life for a fourth film. This comes straight from John Cho, the Harold to Kal Penn’s Kumar, who's been fielding questions about a potential reunion while out plugging his latest project, Your Mother, Your Mother, Your Mother, with Mahershala Ali. Apparently, the infamous stoner duo could be lighting up screens again—only now, of course, they'd be considerably older and the world’s gone properly weird since White Castle days.
In John Cho's words to Variety about Harold & Kumar 4: 'That would be fun and I can confirm that it is allegedly gestating with me and Kal Penn. We’re older, and if we do this, I think it would be really interesting because I can’t believe how many fundamental things have changed in the time we’ve done these movies!'
Not to be outdone by his own enthusiasm, Cho also flagged one of the more obvious narrative hurdles—namely, that weed is now legal across much of the States, which slightly changes the stakes (and, presumably, the humor).
Cho continued to Variety: 'The headliner is that weed is legal. The movies talk about cultural politics and national politics, and everything there has also changed, so I think it would be interesting to see what this movie would be.'
What’s Actually Happening?
It’s not just Cho doing a bit of wishful thinking. Back in July, Greg Shapiro (who produced the originals) dropped some genuine progress news. He confirmed at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival that the fourth instalment does have a script in the works. According to Shapiro, the original actors and writers are all involved, and, in an interesting twist, the writers are apparently taking over directing duties this time around. That’s Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg—the same pair who gave us the first films—now set to both co-write (with Josh Heald in tow) and direct.
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- The original film, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, dropped back in July 2004 and sits at a 75% Tomatometer and 80% Audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Sequel Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay landed April 2008.
- A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas arrived November 2011, set six years after the second film.
- No official release date for Harold & Kumar 4 yet—the script is still being written.