‘Bend It Like Beckham’ Sequel Announced Following England Women’s Historic Victory

As England’s women clinch back-to-back Euro titles, director Gurinder Chadha confirms a long-awaited sequel to her cultural classic

The cult-hit credited – at least in part – with inspiring a generation of girls to play football is set for a much-anticipated sequel as England’s women’s football hits new highs.

Taking the form of either a feature film or television series, Chadha told the BBC of her plans for a follow-up. “A lot has changed since the original movie, but I think that people still don’t think that women should play football,” she said. The 2002 original starred Parminder Nagra and Keira Knightley as Jess and Juliette, chasing careers in professional women’s football in spite of their parent’s wishes. Chadha is hoping for a return of the original cast.

Set for 2027, Chadha will have left 25 years in between films. “I didn’t want to do anything because I didn’t have a story. And then I came up with a great story, really super-cool story. So now I’m inspired,” she told Deadline. Chadha will be working collaboratively on the sequel with Emma Hayes, coach of the United States football team, who has a personal attachment to the original, admitting that “I cried in the cinema watching the film because I felt just like Jess and Jules.”

Since its release in 2002, Chadha’s subsequent films ‘Bride and Prejudice’ and ‘Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging’ all saw significant popularity in the UK and cemented her as a cornerstone of 2000s filmmaking for a generation now in their late twenties and thirties. She was awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in 2006, for her services to the British film industry.

Growing up in Southall, many of Chadha’s films explore Indian woman in the UK and their ability to navigate Indian tradition with modern, western culture. In ‘Bend it Like Beckham,’ Jess is torn between her sister’s wedding (and the customary expectations placed on women in Indian culture more broadly) and playing for Hounslow Harriers women’s team, against her parent’s wishes. Chadha’s representation of cultural amalgamation and immigrant communities have an accuracy and authenticity that is only available to members of that same community.

‘Bend it Like Beckham’ deftly blended the genuinely comic (“Indian brides never smile, you’ll ruin the bloody video”) with cultural commentary and emotional depth. Looking back over 20 years on, it feels like a time capsule into the 2000s – the heyday of David Beckham. After England’s women reach the European finals, we can only wonder who we’ll be naming it after next. Cross it like Kelly?