The comedy movie School of Rock is the pinnacle of Jack Black's career in the actor's own opinion. Next year, the classic film will officially be turning 20 years old, and the actor was recently asked about the upcoming anniversary in a new interview with Entertainment Tonight. Thinking back to working on that movie, Black has nothing but the fondest memories, and he in fact thinks of School of Rock as the highlight of his career.
"My best memories are just that group of kids, and how funny and great they were. It's definitely the highlight of my career, I can say that. Honestly."
School of Rock stars Jack Black as a struggling musician who poses as a substitute teacher are a prestigious prep school. When he sees first-hand how talented the fourth grade students are with music, he forms a band together with the children in an effort to win a Battle of the Bands contest. The film was a tremendous hit at the box office and earned praise for Black's performance, regarded as one of his most memorable roles.
Richard Linklater directed School of Rock using a screenplay by Mike White. White also starred in the film alongside Black, Joan Cusack, Sarah Silverman, and a young Miranda Cosgrove. The film would also inspire both a stage adaptation and a television series that aired on Nickelodeon for three seasons.
School of Rock 2 Has Been Teased in the Past, But Will It Ever Happen?
There have been rumors dating back years of a sequel, though School of Rock 2 never seems to have truly gotten its wheels spinning. In 2008, Black said that there was a screenplay that existed and that he was open to returning, but the project seemed to fizzle out before getting started. At one point, it was reported that Black would return with director Richard Linklater for a sequel called School of Rock 2: America Rocks, which would have followed summer school students on a cross-country field trip exploring the history of rock 'n roll. By 2016, Black seemed to have given up hope that the movie would end up happening.
"I would love to do a School of Rock sequel. Or a Nacho Libre sequel,” Black told Digital Spy at the time. "The thing is, I don't want to do anything that doesn't have the original creative team behind it, and it just so happens that I've worked with people who are real originals. And they don't want to go back from whence they came, they want to go on to the next thing. I think that's the true creative spirit - and it's a not really a sequel one."
We've since gone pretty far into a new dawn of reboots and legacy sequels, so perhaps the odds of Black returning in a School of Rock follow-up film are not as much of a pipe dream as previously thought. With that being said, there hasn't been any new indications of a new movie happening anytime soon, but with the 20th anniversary coming up in 2023, maybe those discussions could end up taking place in the near future.