Twenty years ago, quirky indie comedy Napoleon Dynamite was untethered, giving the world a socially awkward teen to root for, a seemingly endless string of quotes and even a llama that just wouldn’t eat the ham. And while things worked out for the characters at the end of the movie, they may not have fared so well two decades later.
As Napoleon Dynamite star Jon Heder put it, “I think it’s not looking very good for most of them.” On where Napoleon himself is, Heder added, “Napoleon is probably paying child support to two different moms, with two different kids…maybe Trisha was a fling. Like, ‘Let’s give it a go…no, I was right the first time.’ It didn’t work out with Deb, but he really wants to make it work with Deb so he’s like, ‘I’ve gotta get some political sway to pull some cool favors.’ So he goes to his best friend, who’s in some high places.”
That best friend, of course, is Pedro, who portrayer Efren Ramirez thinks went on to marry crush Summer Wheatley. He, too, has taken his political aspirations to the next level, running for city council (possibly in Preston?). “But not only that — he’d probably have a law firm, Sánchez and Sánchez, along with Summer, and they’re working together as a team. And they’ll say, ‘I’ll build you a case or something,’” playing off a line from Napoleon Dynamite.
And then there’s Uncle Rico, played by Jon Gries. According to Gries, he’s pretty much up to the same shenanigans that would get him into trouble throughout his life. “He started his own YouTube channel, Backyard Teenage Wrestling. He’s [had] some subpoenas, ’cause kids have broken arms and broken ankles from jumping off of roofs onto tables and things. But he has a good plan. Anyway, he might go to Sánchez and Sánchez, to get him out of trouble.”
All of this sounds like the perfect set-up for a Napoleon Dynamite 2, which was actually in discussion not that long ago. Prior to that, we got an animated series in 2012. It was, unlike the legacy of the movie, short-lived. While we may never really get a Napoleon Dynamite sequel, that’s probably for the better, because whether you love it or hate it (“Gosh!”), some movies just belong in their time.
Be sure to check out our 20th anniversary interviews with the cast of Napoleon Dynamite.
Where do you think the Napoleon Dynamite characters ended up after all this time? Give us your own predictions below!