Dave Franco has discussed his long-running effort to work with writer-director Macon Blair, which finally resulted in the road comedy *Idiots*, released theatrically on 28 August. The film matters partly as an attempt to revive broad, adult-oriented comedies in cinemas, a style Franco believes has become less common in multiplexes.

Franco first contacted Blair after seeing his 2017 directorial debut, and Blair later sent him the script, then titled *The Shitheads*; earlier financing attempts in 2017 and 2018 failed. Funding was secured in 2025 for a shoot in Georgia, with Franco helping produce and recommending O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Mason Thames for key roles. The film premiered at Sundance in 2026, was acquired by IFC, and was renamed for marketing reasons; Franco highlighted a deliberately extreme diarrhoea scene as the most outrageous thing he has filmed.