Bend It Like Beckham director finally teases sequel idea

Speaking with Metro.co.uk about the potential for a sequel, Chadha said: "With all this talk of the World Cup and the popularity of women's football, in the past I haven't thought about.

"I never really wanted to make a sequel to the film, because I just thought the way Parminder and Keira played it, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Archie Panjabi, I could never really follow that up and create that same magic in the same way.

"But with the recent success of football, I just feel like I'm starting to percolate an idea for a possible sequel of some kind."

The film was one of the earliest in Knightley's career, after she had previously appeared in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. She has since gone on to star in the Pirates of the Caribbean series, Love Actually and many more films.

Meanwhile, Nagra has had roles in numerous series, including Maternal and Agents of SHIELD, and is currently starring in ITV police drama DI Ray.

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It is currently unclear whether the potential sequel film would continue to follow Nagra and Knightley's characters Jess and Jules, or whether it would follow a new group of girls vying to make it in professional football.

Chadha's comments come after England got to the final of this year's Women's World Cup, but were pipped to the post by the Spanish team.

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