Joel and Ethan Coen’s “The Big Lebowski” is probably one of the most notorious cult classics in Hollywood history and widely considered to be one of the funniest movies ever made.
It’s one of the intersectional movies that no matter your creed, race or political affiliation, its hilariously absurd plot and characters is something that brings us together, tickling all of our funny bones in the process.
And if you’re a fan of “The Big Lebowski” then you’re gonna want to read this.
The Coen Brothers classic “The Big Lebowski” is officially 21 years old – featuring an absurd plot about a deadbeat pothead Jeffrey Lebowski, or as he insists his name as “The Dude,” who’s mistaken for a millionaire with the same last name, as two thugs ruin his rug by urinating on it.
Along with his bombastic gun-toting Jewish-convert war veteran, bowling buddy with anger issues, Walter Sobchak; they confront the real “The Big Lebowski” those thugs were actually after to get a new rug, but instead are enlisted to find his missing wife.
From there it’s a cast of misfit characters that include nihilistic Nazis, an eccentric painter, a porn star producer named Jackie Treehorn and a prolific pedophilic bowler nicknamed “The Jesus.”
There had been rumors a spinoff featuring “The Jesus” played by actor John Turturro had been in the works dating back as far as 2016.
Now, it has definitely become a reality.
Hollywood Reporter announced on Monday “The Jesus Rolls” will come out early next year.
Screen Media picked up the North American distribution rights and plan to release it in the Spring of 2020.
“The Jesus Rolls” is written and directed by (and starring) Turturro, but the Coen Brothers had no involvement in the process. They did however give Turturro – who has starred in several of their films including “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” and “Barton Fink.”
Turturro’s spinoff follows a “trio of misfits whose irreverent, sexually charged dynamic evolves into a surprising love story. But when they make enemies with a gun-toting hairdresser, their journey becomes one of constant escape from the law.”
The good news is that it will feature a whole slew of new actors including Jon Hamm, Susan Sarandon and Pete Davidson.
The bad news is that neither Jeff Bridges nor John Goodman will reprise their roles as “The Dude” and Walter Sobchak, respectively.
It’ll still probably be good with dozens of homage’s to the 21-year-old film.
Turturro is incredibly excited about it nonetheless saying, “It feels like a good time to release a transgressive film about the stupidity of men who try and fail and try better to understand and penetrate the mystery of women. I look forward to working with Screen Media and bring our work and the character of the Jesus to American audiences.”
Screen Media senior vice president of acquisition Seth Needle said, “It’s an honor to be working with John Turturro again. His passion for storytelling and character building is unparalleled, so it goes without saying that people should be excited for the Jesus.”
It’s important to note that Walter Sobchak tells the story of “The Jesus” being a pedophile to “The Dude” in “The Big Lebowski” and cuts to a shot of him going door-to-door with his hair combed back to alert his neighbors that he’s a registered sex offender.
This could go two ways. Given that one of the main rules in writing a screenplay is that your protagonist has to be likable, it will likely be a classic misunderstanding and was convicted of the crime anyways and the plot will be what happens afterwards.
Or, “The Jesus Rolls” will take place before “The Big Lebowski” and the last scene will be his conviction – effectively leading into the era of 21-year-old film. Given the plot synopsis, this is more likely.
Either way, the circumstance will probably be a misunderstanding because if it’s not then it will fall flat on its face and the audience won’t relate to “The Jesus.”