''Easy Rider'' sequel is in the works

Crank up the Steppenwolf, gas up your Harley, and let your freak flag fly, man. Variety reports that producer Lauren Lloyd (”Freddy Got Fingered”) is going ahead with a sequel to ”Easy Rider,” the 1969 hippie-biker classic that starred Peter Fonda, Jack Nicholson, and Dennis Hopper. Called ”Easy Rider A.D.,” it would go into production next spring.

It’s hard to imagine how a sequel could work, not just because 33 years have passed since the original became a Woodstock-era cultural touchstone, but also because all three leads were shot to death by the end of the movie. Or maybe not. According to Variety, in the sequel, it turns out that Wyatt (the Fonda character) didn’t die but is in prison, framed for the murder of Nicholson’s George Hanson. A new character apparently helps Wyatt clear his name, and the two set off once again ”in search of America.” No word if any of the ’60s cast, now in their 60s, will show up for a retro-kitsch-value cameo.