Hot Rod 2: Director Jorma Taccone Speaks Out on Sequel Plans for Andy Samberg Movie

The Lonely Island member shoots down hopes for a sequel to 2007's Hot Rod.

By Jenna Anderson

The Lonely Island's body of work has traversed music, movies, and beyond, delivering some delightfully goofy concepts to audiences. Among them is Hot Rod, the 2007 comedy film starring The Lonely Island members Andy Samberg and Jorma Taccone. Although Hot Rod was met with a mixed response upon its debut, it has become something of a cult classic — but apparently, that still might not lead to a follow-up film. In a recent interview with ComicBook.com for his work directing Episode 4 of Paramount+'s Sonic the Hedgehog spinoff series Knuckles, Taccone argued that a potential Hot Rod sequel might not come to fruition, in part because the group's output has been evolving.

"Not really," Taccone revealed. "We haven't, but I mean, that's certainly been brought up to us by fans always. But for us, I think we sort of treat a lot of our work that we did while we were on SNL, it was like you make something and people like it, and then we're always sort of trying to top ourselves or do something different, so I think... And there's outliers to that. Obviously, "Dick in a Box", we did sequels of that. We did sequels of "Laser Cats", but it's always sort of trying to do something different. So I think with film, especially for how much time and energy it takes to do those films... And we're just getting older, dude. I don't know if you want to see a 40-something-year-old Kevin."

What Is Hot Rod About?

In Hot Rod, self-proclaimed stuntman Rod Kimble (Samberg) is preparing for the jump of his life – to clear fifteen buses to raise money for his abusive stepfather Frank's (Ian McShane) life-saving heart operation.

The cast of Hot Rod also included Taccone as Kevin Powell, Bill Hader as Dave McLean, Danny McBride as Rico Brown, Isla Fisher as Denise Harris, and Sissy Spacek as Marie Powell.

What Is Knuckles About?

Set between the events of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Knuckles follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior. 

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The cast of Knuckles also includes Stockard Channing (The West Wing), Edi Patterson (The Righteous Gemstones), Scott Mescudi (Don't Look Up), Ellie Taylor (Ted Lasso), Julian Barratt (Mindhorn), Rory McCann (Game of Thrones), Cary Elwes (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Paul Scheer (Black Monday), and Rob Huebel (Childrens Hospital). Ben Schwartz reprises his role as Sonic the Hedgehog, with Colleen O'Shaughnessey also returning as Tails and Tika Sumpter reprising her role as Maddie.

Knuckles is now streaming exclusively on Paramount+.

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