More than two decades after Bend It Like Beckham inspired a generation of girls to lace up their boots and chase their dreams, writer-director Gurinder Chadha has revealed that a follow-up to the beloved film is finally in the works. Speaking ahead of the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro final between England and Spain in Basel, Chadha confirmed her intention to bring the story and its characters back in a brand new project. Whether it will be a direct movie sequel, a series, or another format entirely remains undecided — but one thing is clear: she’s ready to continue the legacy.
“I am so happy to be here in Basel for the Euros, the atmosphere is amazing,” Chadha said to The Guardian. “What I can share with you today is my very clear wish to bring the beloved characters from Bend It Like Beckham back to you and audiences globally very, very soon. Women’s football is more competitive, more exciting, and more global than ever. It is an honor for me to be a small part of it.”
The 2002 film starred Parminder Nagra as football-obsessed Jess Bhamra and Keira Knightley in her breakout role as her teammate Jules. The story tackled themes of identity, cultural expectations, and family — all wrapped around the thrill of the game. It was a massive international success, earning over $75 million worldwide and becoming the only film to be distributed in every country on Earth, including North Korea.
Chadha has long resisted calls to revisit the story — not for lack of interest, but out of respect for the original. That changed this year. “After 23 years and being unable to come up with a storyline that was as good as the original, I have finally found a fantastic story for a Bend It Like Beckham follow up,” she confirmed.
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The sequel will also bring on Emma Hayes, newly-appointed U.S. Women’s National Team manager and one of football’s most respected minds, as a creative collaborator. “I’m super excited to have connected with Emma who, when I first met her, said: ‘Oh my god, I was Keira Knightley, that was me!’ I know all the amazing work that she is doing both in front and behind the scenes for women’s football, so have brought her on board as a collaborator as I write the script which I’m working on right now.”
Chadha says the new film will still have that mix of emotional depth and joyful energy that made the original so enduring. “The original film, for me, was about lifting up girls and saying you can do and be anything you want, even though society dictates what you can and can’t do,” she said. “That message is still relevant today… It will be hard-hitting, of course, but it will also be incredibly joyous — how can it not be as a follow-up to Bend It Like Beckham?”
Chadha also confirmed to Deadline, separately, that Nagra, Knightley, Archie Panjabi, Juliet Stevenson and other members of the original cast “are aware that a sequel is being developed, but they obviously want to see a script before they commit,” adding that she was “pretty sure” they would all return.
via Collider