The three entries in the Harold & Kumar franchise may not have done particularly massive business at the box office, with none of the movies managing to even crack $50 million globally, but they remain firm cult favorites. Far from appealing entirely to the stoner crowd, the title duo’s adventures are also surprisingly heartfelt comedies that deal with issues like parental pressure, growing up and then growing apart, although there’s no shortage of gross-out humor, either.
Harold and Kumar’s big screen adventures have also received widespread enthusiasm from critics, and the series holds average scores of 65% on Rotten Tomatoes and 57 on Metacritic – solid numbers for a comedic trilogy. 2011′s A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas even put a fresh spin on the formula by both mocking and utilizing the third dimension, and has since ascended to the status of an underrated holiday favorite.
Even though almost a decade has past since the last outing, stars John Cho and Kal Penn are invariably asked about a fourth movie in almost every interview they do. The actors are well into their 40s at this point, and mid-life crisis comedies can be a very hit or miss proposition, but Penn had a great idea when asked about where he could see the lifelong friends end up should they ever make a return.
“Oh man, look, all my tattoos are astronomy-related, so I kinda like the idea of going to the space station. Oh no, Tom Cruise will beat us! It’s a little tricky with scheduling because they guys who created the franchise created the Cobra Kai show, and John Cho is in New Zealand to do a movie, and I’m about to start Clarice, the Silence Of The Lambs remake, so I am hoping soon. We keep constantly talking about it, but we just have to find the right time.”
Harold & Kumar in Space sounds like a pretty great idea that would present plenty of creative opportunities for the writing team, especially if it continues one of the best running jokes in the franchise by having a sex-crazed and drug-addled Neil Patrick Harris follow them beyond the stars. If the Fast and Furious gang can head to outer space, then surely there’s room up there for Harold and Kumar, too, right?