’10 Things I Hate About You’ Director Plans Sequel Trilogy With Nod To Heath Ledger: “He Deserves To Be Loved”

Gil Junger, the director of 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), is planning a sequel trilogy with a nod to Heath Ledger.

The teen romantic comedy in which Ledger starred alongside Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Larisa Oleynik became a cult classic, and Junger wants to revisit its universe.

In a new interview, the filmmaker revealed he is co-writing a script alongside Naya Elle James that they have titled 10 Things I Hate About Dating. The film would be the first of three with subsequent installments titled 10 Things I Hate About Marriage and 10 Things I Hate About Kids.

Although the film has not been greenlit, Junger tells People the sequel “is definitely in the works as a feature film. We’re developing it right now.”

10 Things I Hate About You is a modern retelling of William Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew. Junger says Molière’s The Misanthrope would inspire his follow-up film.

“I would love to work with Julia again,” Junger told the publication. “She shaped the lives of millions of women. That Kat character really spoke to young women in a very powerful way.”

The sequel is still in its early stages, and Junger says he “hasn’t thought” about which actors could potentially reprise their roles but is open to “have some cameos or even real parts,” adding, “I’d love Larry Miller to come back because he’s so great.”

Ledger died in 2008, and when the reporter asked Junger if there would be a nod to the late actor, the filmmaker said, “I think that’s a beautiful idea, and the answer is now going to be yes. … He deserves to be loved.”

10 Things I Hate About You also starred Larry Miller, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Susan May Pratt, Gabrielle Union, and many more. ABC Family adapted the film into a television series in 2009, where it ran for one season.

A stage musical is in the works for Broadway with Carly Rae Jepsen and Ethan Gruska collaborating on the score and Lena Dunham and Jessica Huang working on the book.