As any fan of Friday Night Lights knows, it takes a long time to get over that show. Not days, not weeks, not even months — we're talking years, because every time Jesse Plemons' Todd appears on Breaking Bad or Connie Britton's hair shines from the cover of a magazine, it serves as a reminder to the series we loved and lost. So when FNL creator Peter Berg revealed in 2012 that he had plans to make a movie version of the beloved show, fans everywhere rejoiced that they weren't the only ones who still had trouble letting go of Coach and co. For many months, it seemed like the movie was a go, with both Berg and cast members referencing a script and the desire for a reunion. Yet on Monday, Berg announced that a Friday Night Lights movie would not happening, breaking our hearts and leaving us very, very mad.
In an interview with Collider, Berg said that the FNL cast/crew had talked about the possibility of a movie for awhile, and while some people were on board, many others were not. Now, he's "come to believe it’s probably not a good idea."
Sorry, Peter Berg, but YOU'RE WRONG. And then he had to go and add, "I seriously doubt it’s gonna happen," just in case his point wasn't already clear enough. Oh, Berg, why are you so cruel?!
August 2011 — Peter Berg announces that a Friday Night Lights movie is in the works, and that they're "very serious about trying to do it." CLEAR EYES FULL HEARTS WE LOVE THIS NEWS.
February 2012 — Berg says that he's nearly finished writing a script for a movie based off the series, which would surround the events of a coach (re: Eric Taylor) unjustly accused of mistreating a player with a concussion. The idea sounds great, but even if it didn't, we'd still be overjoyed that a script was in the works at all.
May 2012 — Jesse Plemons, who played lovable geek/accidental murderer Landry Clarke, says that while he can't imagine what an FNL movie would be like, he's "interested in seeing what they could come up with."
March 2013 — Adrianne Palicki, aka Tyra Collette, says that a Kickstarter campaign for the movie is happening. One step closer!
August 2013 — Britton says that she has the FNL movie script in her possession. Meaning, not only is there a completed script, but Tami Taylor herself has a copy. The path to a green light must be nothing but clear from here, right?!
Late August 2013 — Wrong. Kyle Chandler reveals that he's uninterested in an FNL movie, saying that since the show's creators "ended the thing so perfectly," he wants to leave it as is. As disappointing as this is, though, we can't take Chandler's words too seriously; after all, how many times has Coach swore he wouldn't do something, only to have his mind changed by his wife?
October 2013 — Britton gets our hopes up even higher when she emphasizes her interest in making a Friday Night Lights movie during an interview. Sure, it's not total confirmation — Chandler is still not thrilled with the idea, Britton says – but it's something.
And then Peter Berg had to open his mouth and ruin our hopes. We know, we know, there were probably a ton of reasons why a movie wouldn't have worked, but still. We would've taken any chance to see one of the best TV shows of all time come to life again, and it's a big disappointment that it's not going to happen. We'll have to settle for all those mini-reunions and watch re-runs on Netflix to quell our FNL nostalgia. And somehow, steal that script away from Britton... even if there's no movie, we need to know what Berg had in mind for Coach, Tami and the rest of the crew. Do the Taylors stay in Philadelphia? Do Julie and Matt get married? Does Riggins ever build that house? So many questions left unanswered.
Without a movie, we may just never know. And not knowing what happens to our favorite TV family?