The creators of Netflix’s Cobra Kai, Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, have formally agreed to write a new installment of the Harold & Kumar series, meaning that everyone’s favorite stoner cult classic will finally get a fourth installment. The movie, which is still in development under Lionsgate’s Mandate Pictures, will also be directed by Hurwitz and Schlossberg. For the two, whose Hollywood careers began with writing the screenplay for the 2004 original and directing its 2008 sequel, Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay, it’s a kind of homecoming. A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas, a third movie in the franchise, was helmed by Todd Strauss-Schulson.
Although no contracts have been finalized, it is anticipated that John Cho and Kal Penn, who portrayed the stoic Harold Lee and the lighthearted Kumar Patel, respectively, will return. Additionally unconfirmed is Neil Patrick Harris, who portrayed a drugged-up, fictionalized version of himself in the series.
Even though the news has excited fans who are nostalgic, not everyone is in favor of a fourth movie. “The first one was great. The second one was mostly boring but had a few funny moments. The third one is absolute trash. I’m not particularly excited for a fourth movie,” one fan admitted on X. Others made assumptions about the plot, speculating on anything from Harold & Kumar’s midlife crisis to a parody with an ICE motif. But most expressed confusion over the announcement coming before the leads had officially signed on. “Weird to announce it when the two stars haven’t signed deals,” one user pointed out. Another person reasoned that they must be close or that Kal and John have an advantage in talks and that the studio is squeezing them by making the announcement.