2017 film by David Bowers
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Long Haul is a 2017 American road comedy film written and directed by David Bowers. It is the fourth installment in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid film series, a standalone sequel to Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days, and the final live-action film in the franchise. It was based on the ninth book of the same name, with elements of the seventh, eighth, and tenth books in the series, and was cowritten by the books' author, Jeff Kinney. The plot follows the Heffleys as they go on a road trip to Meemaw's 90th birthday party, without realizing the various calamities that will occur along the way.
Dog Days, released in 2012, was described as the last live-action film in the franchise, with the original cast and crew indicating that there were no plans for a fourth one or any more sequels. By 2016, a live-action adaptation of the ninth book, The Long Haul, was in development, with a brand new cast portraying the Heffley family. It was released by 20th Century Fox on May 19, 2017. It received negative reviews from critics and grossed $40.1 million against a $22 million budget.
The film's failure resulted in two planned live-action sequels with the film's cast to be cancelled, and the franchise was rebooted in 2021 with an animated film based on the first book.
Plot summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.