Thanks to the recent Hulu documentary Brats, there’s a renewed interest in the Brat Pack, the famous group of actors from the 1980s which included the likes of Rob Lowe, Ally Sheedy, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, and Emilio Estevez, to name a few. Real ones who grew up with posters on their walls and dressed in similar fashion to the iconic band of misfits never lost their love for the group, but it’s that fresh spark that, according to Lowe, could lead to a legacy sequel of St. Elmo’s Fire if all the stars align.
Speaking with ScreenRant, Lowe confirmed reports that a legacy sequel to St. Elmo’s Fire featuring the original cast is in the works, though he admits that it’s very early on in the process. How early? According to Lowe, five “very’s.” Check out his comments below.
This is a real thing. It’s very, very, very, very, very early stages, and I don’t really wanna say more than that, other than it’s early stages, real thing.
St. Elmo’s Fire
A group of recent college graduates embark on a series of misadventures in the real world. There’s Kirby, a waiter who wants to be a lawyer; Kevin, a moody writer who yearns for the wild Jules; Alec, whose political aspirations alienate his girlfriend, Leslie; and Wendy, a quiet girl in love with Billy, who juggles roles as husband, dad and drunk. Together they grapple with adulthood.
- Release Date
- June 28, 1985
Like we said, a lot of “very”s, which means if the project should happen, it probably won’t be anytime soon. Those who watched Brats on Hulu know that not everyone who was a member of the 1980s group participated in the documentary, as those such as Nelson would rather leave the past in the past. Brats offered an in-depth look at how the “Brat Pack” label affected everyone’s careers, with many saying it did more harm than good. It’s understandable that some are hesitant to revisit that time in their life, especially by gathering for a legacy sequel that would undoubtedly splash the headline “Brat Pack Reunites” all over the place.
Do We Really Need Another Brat Pack Movie?
We get the nostalgia factor, we really do, but is another Brat Pack movie really necessary? Especially one for St. Elmo’s Fire, which wasn’t exactly the most critically acclaimed of the bunch (it currently holds a 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes)? The simple answer is no, but the long answer is yeah, sort of.
While St. Elmo’s Fire probably featured the greatest number of Brat Pack members gathered for one film, it’s not the most well-regarded of the bunch in most retrospective reviews. The one movie that audiences always seem to go back to is The Breakfast Club. Despite its problematic elements that haven’t aged well, imagine seeing what became of John Bender (Nelson) and Claire Standish (Molly Ringwald). Did their romance last? Probably not. What about Andrew Clark (Estevez) and Allison Reynolds (Sheedy)? Did they make it? We like to think so. We also like to think that somewhere Brian Johnson (Anthony Michael Hall) still has someone’s weed stuffed down his underwear. It should also be pointed out that Hall himself has said that the movie is right for a legacy sequel.
Related
Andrew McCarthy Describes Confronting the Man Who Coined the Term ‘Brat Pack’
Why is the Brat Pack called the Brat Pack? Andrew McCarthy discusses confronting the man who coined the term in his documentary Brats.
So, while we don’t really need another Brat Pack movie, it would still be fun to revisit the crew from The Breakfast Club rather than St. Elmo’s Fire, but in all probability neither of those is likely to happen. There’s just too much history there between all the actors, both good and bad. Despite what Sony and Lowe have to say about the project, we’ll be surprised if the movie ever comes to fruition, and if it does, there’s a better than even chance that not everyone will show up.
St. Elmo’s Fire
is available to stream on
Hulu
, and you can check out our interview with Andrew McCarthy below about the making of
Brats
.