Summary

• Jon Hamm is uncertain if the proposed Confess, Fletch sequel will happen following studio shakeups and its box office underperformance.
• Despite his uncertainty, the Emmy and Golden Globe winner remains hopeful he and writer/director Greg Mottola will get to make the sequel, namely as he is a big fan of the source books.
• Though the box office underperformance could hinder its chances, the long road for the first movie to be made, the limited release it got and Hamm's continued passion to make the sequel could see it get the chance.

While a sequel script was said to be in the works shortly after the first movie's release, Jon Hamm has an uncertain update on Confess, Fletch 2. The 2022 movie served as a reboot of the Chevy Chase-led comedy franchise, bringing a new take to Gregory Mcdonald's books and following Hamm's titular investigative journalist as he gets wrapped up in a conspiratorial web in which he's framed for murder while searching for the paintings stolen from his girlfriend's family's collection. Co-written and directed by Greg Mottola, the movie garnered rave reviews from critics for its stylish and fresh approach to the material.

During a recent interview with Screen Rant for the Grimsburg season 1 finale, Hamm was asked for an update on the Confess, Fletch sequel. Though the Emmy and Golden Globe winner, who was also a producer on the first movie, confirmed that Mottola has completed the script for the follow-up, which will be based on the third book in the series, Fletch's Fortune, he indicated that studio shakeups at Miramax and Paramount have left them uncertain. He did, however, reassure that he and Mottola are "ready to go" should they be given the opportunity, particularly as Hamm is "such a fan" of the books. Check out what Hamm said below:

Jon Hamm: We have a script, I don't really have a lot of specificity on it. The next script would be the next book in the series, which is Fletch's Fortune, and it's sort of loosely set in the journalism world, which is very interesting, I think, and weirdly timely given the fact that the book was written in the '70s, and it's somehow even more timely now. But the problem is Miramax has been bought and sold, who owns the rights, so we're kind of waiting to see how that shakes out. The situation at Paramount, I think everybody's kind of waiting to see what's happening with Paramount, as well. [Chuckles]

So, there's some corporate intrigue that we're kind of waiting to see where the dust settles with that, but we're ready to go with the next chapter in it as soon as we can. I loved playing the part, Greg loved writing it, and I thought what we did with it was fun and funny. I actually ran into Chevy Chase in the airport, which was lovely, and he couldn't have been nicer. Our stated objective wasn't to try to remake Chevy's version of Fletch, we really wanted to make it our own and give it its own tone and sensibility, and I think we did, and people really responded to it.

But, the business aspect of it wasn't as successful as we'd hoped, but that also is kind of a weird fact of the new media landscape. And in some ways, the metric of success for film is so completely different now. I've had people from friends of mine to former students of mine to President Obama and David Zaslav tell me how much they loved the movie. [Chuckles]

So, it's definitely resonating with people, and I think people did enjoy it. So hopefully, we can start the engine on the next one sooner rather than later, and keep them coming, because I've been such a fan of the books for so long, and was really excited to get a chance to put my own spin on it, and really loved doing it.

Will A Confess Fletch Sequel Ever Happen?

Hamm's point about the movie's "business aspect" struggling seemingly points to Confess, Fletch's underperformance at the box office, in which it grossed just shy of $657,000 against its $20 million production budget. While this pales in comparison to both of the Chase-led movies, the 2022 reboot not only outshone them with critics, but also didn't get the same wide theatrical release as the two, having only been released in 516 theaters in its opening weekend before decreasing in subsequent weeks. See how Confess, Fletch compared to its predecessors on Rotten Tomatoes and at the box office below:

Though the movie's lackluster box office performance spells uncertainty for its chances, the long road to Confess, Fletch getting off the ground in the first place could prove promising for a potential sequel. Attempts to make a reboot had languished for nearly two decades, with Jason Sudeikis having been attached for a few years before Hamm came on board. While Hamm's similarly took multiple years to come to fruition, his and Mottola's vision was clearly the right one per critics' response to the movie.

Interestingly, Hamm was so passionate about Confess, Fletch that he gave up approximately 60% of his salary for the movie in order to secure a few extra days of filming along with Mottola. Though it seems unlikely that the duo would do the same in a potential sequel, this devotion to the Mcdonald adaptations may be just what's needed to keep the interest among studios alive to make another installment, particularly if it were given a proper wide theatrical release in comparison to the limited one the first movie saw.