The Long Road To Super Troopers 2

SUPER TROOPERS was only a moderate success when it hit theaters back in 2001. Reviews weren’t great, and it seemed like the movie could fade away. But that didn’t happen; SUPER TROOPERS became a cult classic, and now it has a sequel!

Written by Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske — the lineup of comedy team Broken Lizard — the original film starred that same crew as a bunch of state troopers whose unorthodox law enforcement tactics caused clashes with local cops as they face a department shutdown.

Despite die-hard fans hoping for a sequel, years went by and the follow-up never materialized, until now. 17 years after the original, SUPER TROOPERS 2 will hit theaters on April 20th 2018, with the Broken Lizard crew once again writing and starring. Why did it take so long for Super Troopers 2 to happen? Turns out, the road to the sequel was littered with constant roadblocks.

‘Super Troopers 2’ Was Originally Going To Be A Prequel

The first reports of a SUPER TROOPERS follow-up emerged in 2006. Instead of a direct sequel, producers were planning to make a prequel. The plan was to follow the fathers from the original movie, and the events were to take place sometime during the ’70s.

This would’ve been a pretty neat idea, and beat Fargo Season 2 to the concept. But the SUPER TROOPERS prequel never happened. In 2009, eight years after the original, Chandrasekhar confirmed that he was working on a sequel to Super Troopers instead. Speaking to Movieweb, the director was pretty confident about his plan.

“We pick up the story essentially right were we left off. Maybe about three months later. We are all working undercover for the lumber industry. What has happened is that there are all of these eco-terrorists that are trying to blow up the lumber mills. And we are there working as security. There was this big, sort of fun shootout at a mill.”

The Long Road to ‘Super Troopers 2’

You might think that Chandrasekhar’s confirmation of a sequel would’ve been a step in the right direction, but unfortunately this didn’t set the production in motion. The Broken Lizard team later revealed that they had completed three drafts of the screenplay, but it took years for anything to happen with the project.

Light appeared at the end of the tunnel in 2015. Broken Lizard announced that the studio gave the go-ahead to shoot SUPER TROOPERS 2. There was one big hitch: they had to provide their own funding. So the comedy writing team set up an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to ask fans to help them fund the movie. The goal was significant, as the team needed to raise $2 million.

In what can only be described as an awesome feat, the target of $2 million was raised only 26 hours after the page went live. It’s safe to say that the campaign was a success; according to the page, $4,617,223 was raised to fund the film. Of course, perks were offered to potential funders, which no doubt aided in the target being reached so quickly. For example, people who donated $10,000 will receive a ‘producer’ credit on the film.

In an interview with Collider, Soter spoke of the success of the Crowdfunding campaign and the initial filming schedule of SUPER TROOPERS 2.

“What I didn’t understand at the time is you don’t spend that money within the calendar year, you get killed on all these taxes. So we had to go out and start shooting the movie without having the money to make the movie. So we went and shot for a week … then had to go raise the rest of the money and then go back. And that’s just a bizarre way to do things too … so everything about how this movie was made was different than anything we’d ever done.”

The Final Result

After years of production and funding issues, Broken Lizard announced that post-production on SUPER TROOPERS 2 had finally been completed in August 2017. The film is set for release on April 20. We have to commend Broken Lizard for their dedication – despite all of the roadblocks – to making Super Troopers 2. Fans also deserve some credit for supporting and funding the project. Hopefully, they’ll get their money’s worth when the film hits theaters.

Who’d have thought that SUPER TROOPERS, a moderately successful film, would have the online support to raise enough funds for a sequel? Never underestimate the power of a dedicated fanbase!

SUPER TROOPERS 2 hits theatres on April 20.