Parminder K. Nagra in ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ – Credit: Sundance/WireImage
The girls are back. Filmmaker Gurinder Chadha confirmed that she is currently working on a sequel to the beloved 2003 soccer film Bend It Like Beckham.
“I’m excited to revisit the original characters and revive the enduring story and build on the legacy we helped to create for the women’s game,” Chadha told Deadline. She added that the original cast members, including Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Archie Panjabi, and Juliet Stevenson, “are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit.”
More from Rolling Stone
“I’m pretty certain that everyone’s going to want to come back,” Chadha said. “Everything hinges on the script and if the original cast likes it. I am working really hard to make sure every character I bring back has a decent arc and scenes.”
Chadha co-wrote the 2003 film with Guljit Bindra and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges, and will likely repeat the process for the sequel. “I’m hoping to write it with Paul, who has come up with some very funny lines like he did last time,” she told Deadline.
The director said she has been considering making a sequel or a follow-up TV series for many years. “I didn’t want to do anything because I didn’t have a story,” Chadha said. “And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I’m inspired. Literally came up with it just about a month ago. It’s my very clear wish to bring the characters back very, very soon. Women’s football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever.It is an honor for me to be a small part of it.”
Chadha told Deadline that her aim to write and shoot the sequel for a 2027 release date, which would coincide with the 25th anniversary of Bend it Like Beckham’s 2002 U.K. premiere. The director has been inspired by her recent friendship Emma Hayes, head coach of the U.S. women’s national soccer team. “Her insights into the world of football at her level are invaluable,” Chadha noted.
The filmmaker added that initially no one was interested in a film about girls playing soccer, but the recent popularity of women’s professional soccer has helped renew the focus on a sequel. She said that Bend It Like Beckham “was about lifting up girls and saying, ‘You can do and you can be anything you want even though society dictates what you can and can’t do,’ and that message is still relevant today, even though we have women and women’s soccer sides so huge around the world.”
She continued, “The film’s been part of that legacy, and I feel there’s more that I can do. So that’s what I’m writing and that’s what I’m focusing on. It will be hard-hitting, of course, but it will also be incredibly joyous. Let’s hope we can bring back that same joy and feel good about putting women and girls on the map like we did 23 years ago.”
Best of Rolling Stone
Sign up for RollingStone’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.