Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong says ‘American Idiot’ movie is “eventually going to happen”

Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong has said that the long-rumoured ‘’American Idiot’ film is “eventually going to happen”.

• READ MORE: Green Day – ‘Saviors’ review: their best work since ‘American Idiot’

A movie adaptation of the politically-charged, Grammy-winning 2004 album has been speculated about since the record’s release, with reports back in 2011 suggesting that Tom Hanks was interested in producing.

It was then apparently confirmed in 2013, with playwright Rolin Jones saying he was “finishing up” the script. In 2016, Armstrong told NME that the movie had been given the green light by HBO and that he would be reprising his role as St. Jimmy from the Tony-winning Broadway and West End musical of the same name. He went on to tease that the project would be “surreal” and “offensive”.

However, in 2020, Armstrong told NME that plans had been “pretty much scrapped”.

Now, in an interview with Variety, Armstrong has revived hopes that the film may yet materialise. Speaking about the success of the stage musical, the singer added: “There was supposed to be [a film], but it never panned out.”

“I’m sure something is gonna happen,” he continued. “The musical did so well and they’ve done it in Australia, Italy, Germany, England…It’s travelled so well. Eventually it’s going to happen, I would think.”

‘American Idiot’ revitalised Green Day’s career, serving as a voice of frustration during the George W. Bush administration and resonating with a new generation. A 20th anniversary reissue of the album arrived last October, featuring a new documentary, 15 unreleased demos, a New York City live show and B-sides and bonus tracks.

Green Day performed ‘American Idiot’ in its entirety on their 2024 ‘Saviors’ world tour. In a five-star review of the band’s show in Manchester, NME wrote: “By the time we reach ‘American Idiot’, Armstrong has hit red-hot form, and the volume seems to have been cranked up a notch. There’s no room for ‘21 Guns’ on this setlist, but the emotional potency of ‘Boulevard Of Broken Dreams’ feels magnified.”

Meanwhile, a different Green Day film is in the works. In February, Variety reported that a road trip comedy titled New Years Rev will be produced by all three band members and will be inspired by their early touring days. It will follow three friends who embark on a road trip in the mistaken belief that they have secured a Green Day support slot at a New Year’s Eve show.

The band then put out a casting call for the film, asking for “punks, emo, hardcore, alternative and rocker young adults”.

Elsewhere, Green Day were honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame this week, adjacent to Amoeba Music on Hollywood Boulevard.

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