Acclaimed director Greg Mottola has revealed that his plans for a sequel to Confess, Fletch, starring Jon Hamm as the iconic investigator Irwin “Fletch” Fletcher, have been scrapped due to interference from the film’s studio.
Mottola, known for helming comedic hits like Superbad, had written a script based on Gregory Mcdonald’s 1978 Fletch novel Fletch’s Fortune. But the director claims Miramax, which controls the rights to the book franchise, shut down the project under new leadership without giving the follow-up a chance.
“I was told the first film lost money, though no real effort was made to promote it,” Mottola lamented on social media. “Feature comedy is a tough sell these days.”
The setback is just the latest in a long line of obstacles for the beloved Fletch character. Originally made famous by Chevy Chase in 1985’s Fletch and its 1989 sequel, multiple attempts over the years to bring the snarky investigator back to audiences have fallen through.
Directors Kevin Smith and Bill Lawrence also expressed interest in reviving Fletch but were unable to make their visions reality. And star Jon Hamm, who breathed new life into the role for Confess, Fletch last year, acknowledged the ongoing “curse” plaguing the franchise in seeking a sequel.
For now, diehard Fletch fans will have to be content rewatching Hamm’s performance and earlier films, as creative differences once more sideline the misadventures of one of cinema’s great snoops. However, if the right studio support emerges, there remains hope that Fletch may live to investigate another day.
