Judd Apatow Has A New Movie Written & Ready To Go

In the aughts, no one ruled comedy quite like Judd Apatow, which makes his creative downfall so interesting.

Apatow’s reach influenced the comedic landscape, from producing “Superbad, “Pineapple Express” and “Bridesmaids” to HBO’s “Girls.” He was untouchable. Even more impressively, he became a more than decent director, helming these smartly clever, adult-oriented gut-busters, such as “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” and “Knocked Up.”

However, Apatow lost his mojo, sometime when his brand of male-dominated, bro-like, comedy style was deemed none too tasteful in the #MeToo era. The result is that his last few directorial efforts haven’t been that stellar, and it all came crashing down with 2022’s misbegotten “The Bubble.”

The Netflix comedy earned a terrible 21 percent “rotten” rating at Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were just as revolted by the industry satire, slamming it with a 30 percent “rotten” score.

Apatow recently spoke with The Playlist’s Rodrigo Perez, and hinted at what he might be doing next. Although he wouldn’t say what the project was, he did admit having written a film that he’s ready to shoot once the strike ends.

“I wrote a film; I’m just waiting for all these strikes to end to see if they’ll allow me to make it. So, my life is in [national president of the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists] Fran Drescher’s hands. As it’s always been.”

The key line here is “if they allow me to make it.” Apatow is no longer the draw that he was 10 years ago and “The Bubble” burst his stock considerably. That movie was mocked for how awful it was (and for good reason).

Apatow wouldn’t divulge details on this next film, but he did mention still working on “This is 50,” the sequel to “This is 40” starring Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann, a project he hasn’t given up on.

“I have an idea for something [‘This is 50’]… I have an idea for that, so it’s something I’ve been outlining on the side that I would love to do, but right now, it’s all about, ‘is my family available?’” he joked, alluding to the success of his two daughters Iris and Maude Apatow who are also both actors and often booked, the latter a big part of HBO’s “Euphoria.” “Their schedules are getting tight.”