The Breakout Snozzberry
It all started at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. The comedy troupe Broken Lizard—Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, and Erik Stolhanske—unleashed a quirky, low-budget comedy about mischievous Vermont state troopers. Fox Searchlight
Pictures saw potential in the scrappy film, acquiring the rights for $3.25 million. When Super Troopers hit theaters in 2002, it wasn't a blockbuster, earning a respectable $23.2 million at the box office. But its real success wasn't measured in opening weekend numbers. The movie became a phenomenon on DVD, building a massive cult following through word-of-mouth and endless cable reruns. Its endlessly quotable lines about snozzberries, shenanigans, and the a-meow-zing cat game cemented its place as a comedy classic for a generation.
The Long Wait for a Sequel
Despite its cult status and profitability on home video, a sequel was nowhere in sight. For years, the Broken Lizard crew expressed their desire to make another film, but studio skepticism and rights issues kept the project in limbo. The original film was now over a decade old, and traditional Hollywood wisdom questioned whether an audience would still be there for another ride with Thorny, Mac, Rabbit, Foster, and the scene-stealing Farva. Fox Searchlight agreed to distribute a potential sequel, but there was a catch: the troupe would have to find the money to make it on their own. The highway patrolmen were, for a time, stuck in park.
Operation Crowdfund
In 2015, Broken Lizard took a massive gamble. They turned to their loyal fans, launching an Indiegogo campaign to fund Super Troopers 2. The goal was set at $2 million. The response was immediate and overwhelming. They hit their initial goal in just over 24 hours. When the campaign closed a month later, over 54,000 fans had pledged more than $4.6 million, making it one of the most successful crowdfunded film campaigns in history. This wasn't just about funding a movie; it was a direct and powerful demonstration of the franchise's enduring popularity. The fans didn't just want a sequel—they were willing to pay for it themselves, ensuring Brian Cox could once again threaten to pistol-whip someone.
The Troopers Return, Again
Thanks to the fan-funded war chest, Super Troopers 2 went into production and was released in April 2018, a full 17 years after the original's premiere. The sequel, which saw the troopers handling a border dispute with Canada, was a box office success, proving the studios wrong and the fans right. Shortly after its release, director Jay Chandrasekhar announced that a third film was already being written, with the working title Super Troopers 3: Winter Soldiers. After years of script development, production officially began in the summer of 2025, with Searchlight Pictures (the new name for Fox Searchlight under Disney) once again on board for distribution. The third installment, officially titled Super Troopers 3, hit theaters on August 7, 2026. The film centers around the chaos of Farva's wedding, bringing back the entire original cast alongside new additions.
