Rob Lowe: "St. Elmo's Fire" Sequel Script Due First Week of October

By Elena Vasquez

Rob Lowe confirmed on Sunday that a script draft for the long-discussed "St. Elmo's Fire" sequel is due the first week of October. The actor made the announcement during an appearance on Bravo's "Watch What Happens Live."

"It is definitely in the works, for sure," Lowe said. "All of us actors want to do it, and we're supposed to get a draft of the script the first week of October."

The update marks the first concrete production milestone since Sony's 2024 announcement of the sequel. The original "St. Elmo's Fire" opened in 1985 and has fueled near-constant sequel speculation across four decades.

What stage is the sequel in?

Sony, the studio behind the 1985 original, is shepherding the project. Co-star Demi Moore said in 2024 that the studio was "really behind [and] driving this," though she added executives remained "looking for the right partner" to write it.

Lowe told Entertainment Tonight the same year that he had "met with the studio" and had "been talking about doing it for about four months." He cautioned: "But it's very, very, very, very, very early stages. So we will see."

That 2024 cycle remains the only confirmed development window on record. No writer has been named publicly. The October draft would be the first tangible deliverable since the project surfaced.

Who is attached to return?

The original 1985 ensemble includes six actors publicly linked to the sequel:

• Rob Lowe
• Demi Moore
• Emilio Estevez
• Andrew McCarthy
• Ally Sheedy
• Judd Nelson

Joel Schumacher directed the original and co-wrote the screenplay with Carl Kurlander.

What earlier sequel attempts collapsed?

NBC developed a separate series adaptation in 2019. That version never reached air. Josh Berman was attached to write and executive produce alongside Chris King. NBC described the project as a modern retelling of friends wrestling with career, commitment, and adult responsibility. The network did not order a pilot.

That series sat in development for several years before quietly lapsing. Sony's separate film sequel remains the only active project on record.

What is the production outlook?

Sony has not committed to a release date. The October delivery opens a roughly 12-week runway before year-end, giving the studio time to evaluate the draft and attach a writer. If the script arrives on schedule, the project will mark the first sequel development with named cast alignment in 40 years.

The next concrete checkpoint arrives in early October. A delivered draft would move the project into formal studio review by the fourth quarter.