Is American Pie 5 Still Happening, Or Has The Franchise Been Over-Baked?

It would be almost impossible to imagine comedy in the late '90s and early 2000s without "American Pie." For people of that generation, it was a defining film that went on to become a massive mainstream hit, spawning a long-running franchise that made Universal Pictures a lot of money. It also made stars of Jason Biggs, Sean William Scott, Natasha Lyonne, Tara Reid, and much of the rest of the cast. Now, 24 years later, it appears a fifth theatrically released "American Pie" movie is on the way.

We learned last year that Sujata Day ("Insecure") has been tapped to write a "fresh take" on the franchise for Universal Pictures. It will be the first entry in the series to hit theaters since 2012's "American Reunion." It makes sense for the studio to revisit Jim, Stifler, and the gang, as the series has grossed nearly $1 billion at the global box office to date. So, what's going on with "American Pie 5?" Are any of the original stars coming back? What will the movie be about? We're here to break down everything we know at this stage. Let's get into it.

Nobody from Universal Pictures or anyone involved with the films has directly come out and said what is taking so long when it comes to getting a fifth film going. That said, many of the core cast members have been busy with other projects, so scheduling could be an issue. Sujata Day's film with a "fresh take" on the franchise only officially entered development in September 2022 and, given that the writers' strike took up most of 2023, she hasn't had all that much time to work on it.

But it's been more than a decade since "American Reunion." So why did it take so long to even get a new movie in development? Seann William Scott, who plays Stifler in the films, has a theory on that. "I was having a conversation with a friend the other day, I was like, 'You could never make 'American Pie' these days,'" the actor said in an interview with Jake's Takes (via Unilad) in July of this year. "Some of the stuff in that movie, you would get arrested and probably go to jail for a long time if you did it."

Indeed, much has changed in the nearly 25 years since "American Pie" became a pop culture sensation. Scott, to that end, said that he doesn't "ever see there being an appetite" for "those sorts of movies again." That might explain why Day's fresh approach finally got the project moving at the studio.

In recent years, several members of the cast have provided updates on the status of the long-awaited sequel. "It might happen," Tara Reid, who plays Vicky in the films, said to ET in 2021. "I can't tell you when, because I don't really know when, because we have to get all the actors and at the same time to get our schedules together. There is a script out there. I'll put it that way." She also added that the script is "amazing." Again, scheduling seems to be an issue. It also seems like the script that Reid was talking about may no longer be in play, as Sujata Day's version appears to be the one Universal is going with for now.

More recently, Jason Biggs, who has anchored the franchise as Jim, shared his desire to return in an interview with The Hollywood Life in February of this year. Here's what he had to say about it:

"I would jump at the opportunity. I love working with all of them. We are a family. It's the most fun I've ever had on a set in my life. It's a character I love doing more than any other character. I would love it. There's so much that would need to line up at the same time on the business side, so fingers crossed."

More recently, in May of this year, Seann William Scott spoke with Comicbook.com and revealed that he has an idea for "American Pie 5" that is apparently being discussed:

"I don't know, I just love the character so much. We have to have a great idea, and especially these days, it has to be awesome. You know, comedy is tough, and they have always been tough, but you know, comedies have really changed. But I think, honestly, we have been talking about an idea. I had one and I still have one that we've literally just recently started talking about."

No plot details have officially been revealed for "American Pie 5" and, based on the comments from some of the cast, it sounds like multiple ideas have come and gone over the past few years. Seann William Scott spoke with MovieWeb in 2019 and shared his desire to see what a much older Steve Stilfer would be up to, saying the following:

"I just think it's always funny to see Stifler at different stages of his life. So to see him in his mid-forties just sounds really funny to me. But I don't know. I haven't really heard anything."

At this point, much of the cast is coming up on 50, and we already saw the grown-up take on these characters in 2012's "American Reunion." It could be that the best approach would be the "legacy sequel" route, where the old cast members come back to pass the baton to a younger group of cast members. Maybe Jim, Stifler, and the rest of the gang have kids who are now teenagers who are at the center of a raunchy sex comedy?

It's unclear what Day has in mind for her film, but when news first broke, she took to Instagram to say, "Obsessed with raunchy comedies and 'American Pie' is one of my all-time faves!" So it sounds, at the very least, like she is planning to keep it as a raunchy comedy, even if it is a fresh take on the formula.

No cast members have been confirmed for the version of "American Pie 5" that is currently in development. That said, the majority of the core cast members, including Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, and Tara Reid have expressed a desire to return. Barring a total reboot, it seems unlikely that the studio would move on without at least some of them back on board. Beyond that, anything else at this stage would be pure speculation.

Though we've taken to calling it "American Pie 5," the forthcoming sequel is not actually the fifth movie in the franchise. In truth, it will technically be the tenth overall in the series. That's because Universal capitalized further over the years by releasing a series of direct-to-video films beginning in 2005. The main series consists of "American Pie," "American Pie 2," "American Wedding," and "American Reunion," but there are five spin-off films, which are as follows:

• "American Pie Presents: Band Camp" (2005)
• "American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile" (2006)
• "American Pie Presents: Beta House" (2007)
• "American Pie Presents: The Book of Love" (2009)
• "American Pie Presents: Girls' Rules" (2020)

So for those who are looking to scratch that itch before the new sequel eventually arrives, these may be a decent place to start. Though it is worth mentioning that they are much lower budget with almost none of the main cast returning, save for Eugene Levy as Jim's dad who shows up as connective tissue here and there.