Folks, after a long 13 year wait, your prayers have finally been answered: JOE DIRT 2 is becoming a reality! The sequel to the David Spade comedy has been announced and will be produced by Adam Sandler's Happy Madison. While the first film was released by Columbia Pictures, JOE DIRT 2 will be exclusive to Sony's online service Crackle.
Following in the footsteps of Sandler's recent four picture deal with Netflix, JOE DIRT 2 represents the first sequel to a major studio film to be released exclusively online. Note that I said major studio film, not a major film from a studio. In either case, JOE DIRT 2 will once again star David Spade in the title role and it will be directed by former Saturday Night Live writer Fred Wolff.
There are no plot details nor any word if Brittany Daniel, Jaime Pressley, Kid Rock, Dennis Miller, Christopher Walken, or Fred Ward will return, but I would imagine not. The first film was budgeted at $18 million and grossed $28 million theatrically. I would venture to guess this one will have a much lower cost.
Crackle GM Eric Berger released this statement.
“David Spade had a fresh and unique vision for Joe Dirt 2 that he could have brought anywhere and we couldn’t be happier that he brought it to Crackle for a first-of-its-kind, worldwide release. The original film has been a longtime viewer favorite, ranking among the most viewed in our library, and we decided to produce and distribute the sequel as a feature for fans everywhere.”
If anything, JOE DIRT 2 represents the growing market for online feature film premieres, something relegated to independent and low budget films. Adam Sandler and David Spade represent the biggest stars to be included in films made under this new model, but I would expect it to grow even more in the future.
JOE DIRT 2 is expected to begin production in Louisiana this November for a release in 2015.