Classic 1986 Film ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ Gets Spinoff With David Katzenberg Directing

Producer David Katzenberg attends Game Seven between the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on May 17, 2009. (Noel Vasquez/Getty Images)

A spinoff of writer and director John Hughes’ 1986 teen comedy film “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” is getting a spinoff that focuses on the coinciding afternoon of two minor characters in the original film.

“Sam and Victor’s Day Off” will follow the events of the two valets, played in the original film by Richard Edson and Larry Jenkins, who stole the 1961 Ferrari 250 GT California Spyder that the main characters drove to Chicago while skipping school.

The character Ferris Bueller, played by Matthew Broderick, took the Ferrari from the father of his friend Cameron Frye, played by Alan Ruck. When they arrived in the city, they left the car with the two valets, who were later shown ramping the Ferrari over a hill to the theme from “Star Wars.”

Director David Katzenberg has been brought on to direct, according to The InSneider, an entertainment newsletter that first reported the news. Mr. Katzenberg directed the 2013 television series “The Goldbergs,” the 2017 film adaptation of Stephen King’s “It,” and the upcoming 2024 sequel to the 1988 Tim Burton film “Beetlejuice.”

The Hollywood Reporter listed the producers of the film as Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, and Josh Heald, all of whom are co-creators of “Cobra Kai,” which is a spinoff of another ‘80s film, “The Karate Kid.”

A ‘Love Letter’ to Chicago

The late Mr. Hughes, who died in 2009, was known for his writing speed.

Facing an impending writers’ strike, Mr. Hughes—also known for films such as “Sixteen Candles,” “The Breakfast Club,” “Planes, Trains & Automobiles,” and “Home Alone”—wrote the first 50 pages of the “Ferris Bueller” screenplay in one night, Business Insider reported, citing the book “You Couldn’t Ignore Me If You Tried: The Brat Pack, John Hughes, and Their Impact on a Generation” by Susannah Gora.

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In 1986, Mr. Hughes sat down for an interview with actress Molly Ringwald, one of his frequent collaborators and friends, for Seventeen magazine. He revealed that when he was in the seventh grade, his family moved to the Chicago suburbs, which is the setting for most of his films.

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” has often been described as a “love letter” to Chicago.

It was the first film to be shot inside the Art Institute of Chicago, where Cameron was drawn to the Georges Seurat painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.”

Mr. Hughes later explained in a commentary on the scene that it was an existential moment for Cameron, who fixated on the pointillist style of the painting. The image dissolves into individual dots of color the closer the viewer gets, and Cameron projects his own personal anxieties onto the work.

“The more he looks at it, there’s nothing there,” Mr. Hughes explained. “He fears that the more you look at him, the less you see.”

“Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” took in $70 million at the box office and was also a critical success, with Roger Ebert calling it “one of the most innocent movies in a long time” and a “warm-hearted comedy.”

“Ferris is, in fact, a bit of a preacher,” Mr. Ebert wrote, going on to quote one of the titular character’s lines. “‘Life goes by so fast,’ he says, ’that if you don’t stop and look around, you might miss it.'”