A sequel to The NeverEnding Story is allegedly coming to theaters in 2024 – but is true, or is the story truly over?
Social media is a perilous place for fake movie announcements. All it takes is a good poster and a few likes, and suddenly everyone believes John Krasinski is starring in a remake of Die Hard, Pixar is giving The Land Before Time a fresh lick of paint, and Henry Cavill is taking over from Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator?
It’s a cottage industry. Whether it’s Dwayne Johnson’s live-action Popeye film or another Firefly movie, thousands of people are duped into hype (or anger) over something they’ll never see every day.
So, is The NeverEnding Story another one of these internet pipe dreams conjured out of digital thin air, or is it real?
Is a NeverEnding Story sequel happening in 2024?
No, a sequel to The NeverEnding Story isn’t coming out in 2024 – nor is any such project in development.
If you’re one of the thousands who tagged their friends below the poster or excitedly shared it, you only have yourself to blame. It was shared by YODA BBY ABY, a page that openly discloses its main modus operandi: posting fake news and other made-up press releases.
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This time, the poster features Falkor with the tagline, “The story never ended.”
The caption also reads: “Get ready for an epic journey beyond imagination in ‘The Neverending Story.’ Join Bastian, all grown up, as he battles against forgotten memories that hold the fate of Fantasia. Unleash the magic this August 2024 – a cinematic adventure where the past must be remembered to save the future.”
There are already two sequels to the original 1984 movie: The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter and The NeverEnding Story III: Escape from Fantasia. In 2009, rumors of Warner Bros., Kathleen Kennedy, and Indiana Jones producer Frank Marshall developing a remake emerged. Alas, securing the rights has proven to be a difficult hurdle, with Kennedy saying that it’s “not meant to be.”
“It’s very, very complicated with Warner Bros., and other books that have been written with similar character. It’s too bad, because there’s an opportunity with that book because it’s so beautifully written, but I guess it’s not meant to be,” she told The Playlist.
In 2022, Deadline reported that several “multi-million offers” were on the table for the rights to The NeverEnding Story, but nothing has been confirmed.