The Dude Releases 'Big Lebowski' Tease For The Super Bowl--Could It Be A Spin-Off?

The Dude is coming to the Super Bowl. Whether the arrival of one Jeff Lebowski is a matter of circumstance for the sellin' of goods--and that's something we've come to expect from the Super Bowl almost more than the actual sport it's supposed to be about--or the portent of some greater, less-knowable purpose, well, it'll be February 3 before we find out for sure, I guess.

Jeff Bridges, who played The Dude in the Coen Brothers' 1998 stoner detective comedy, tweeted a short video teasing his return to the role some 21 years later. The video doesn't show much--just that nothing about The Dude seems to have changed, except maybe his hair color--and ends with the cryptic date of February 3, 2019. You might recognize that as the date of Super Bowl LIII.

Now, the thing about The Dude is, his story has become what might be known in some circles as a cult classic. So much so, in fact, that there's been at least one attempt to expand that story, by looking into the lives of the fellers who populated it. One of those hombres was Jesus Quintana, who also goes by the handle The Jesus, played by John Turturro in the movie.

Turturro wrote and directed Going Places, a movie that sees him reprise the role of The Jesus. It also stars Bobby Cannavale (Ant-Man, Homecoming) and Audrey Tautou (The Da Vinci Code, Amelie). That movie is complete according to its IMDb page, and though it was originally slated to see the light of day in 2017, that page now says its release is coming this year. So might be The Dude is out here ready to shill for his brother bowler.

Then again, maybe not. You might recall from The Big Lebowski that, at least according to one Walter Sobchak (John Goodman), The Jesus was a sex offender. According to Walter, The Jesus did a stint in the big house for exposing himself to a kid. And seeing as The Big Lebowski has become a pretty well-loved comedic gem in some circles, a revisit to those characters to tell the story of somebody like that--well, it does seem at least a bit ill-advised. Then again, Walter's not exactly the most trustworthy of sources as relates to facts.

Guess it's not for us to know, though, at least not until the big game. It is nice to see The Dude wander back in, even if does end up to be about slingin' some product. If I had to lay a wager, I'd say maybe the folks at Kahlua might be responsible for all this. After all, The Dude loves himself a White Russian.