New Charges, Hadley's Return and the Cartel: AI Creates Plot for "The Shawshank Redemption 2"

In a world where everyone's making sequels and reboots, AI isn't falling behind—and now it's imagined what a sequel to "The Shawshank Redemption" could look like.

A sequel to the cult classic film, according to the most popular AI models, turned out to be simultaneously unsettling, adventurous, and even thriller-esque with cartel undertones. Here are the three most intriguing scenarios for a second installment, if Tim Robbins (Andy Dufresne) and Morgan Freeman (Red) were to star in them again.

Actors Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman in prison uniforms sitting by a stone wall — Andy Dufresne and Red from The Shawshank Redemption

ChatGPT's Version

Twenty-five years have passed since Andy Dufresne's escape. He's living in Zihuatanejo, running a boat repair shop, and it seems he's found peace. But everything changes when a young lawyer arrives in Mexico, claiming he has evidence that could overturn Andy's case in the U.S.

Andy decides to return and clear his name, but upon his return, he walks into a trap: he's arrested on new charges. In prison, he faces a brutal warden obsessed with justice.

Red comes to the rescue—now elderly but still sharp. Together they devise a second, even more daring escape—this time not for freedom, but for truth. The finale is unsettling yet hopeful: Andy disappears again, leaving only a letter and an empty cell.

Grok's Version

Andy Dufresne, living in Zihuatanejo, learns that his old friend Red, released from Shawshank, has gotten into trouble. A Mexican cartel has captured Red, demanding that Andy return stolen money he hid before his escape.

Andy devises a bold plan: he infiltrates the cartel's lair using old prison connections and skills. Meanwhile, Red, never losing hope, organizes resistance among the hostages.

Two men with guns, behind them stand three men in black masks and bulletproof vests — What the sequel to The Shawshank Redemption would look like according to Grok's plot

Andy and Red reunite, exposing the betrayal of a former Shawshank guard connected to the cartel. In the finale, they escape by outsmarting their enemies and find a new home on the Pacific coast, achieving freedom and peace.

Claude's Version

Twenty years after the escape, Andy lives in Mexico under the name Randall Stevens, owning a small coastal hotel. Red has joined him and helps with the business. Their peaceful life is disrupted when former guard Hadley (Clancy Brown) arrives in town, hiding from justice after corruption at Shawshank was exposed.

Hadley recognizes Andy and begins blackmailing him, threatening to turn him in to authorities. But the old guard doesn't know that during his years of freedom, Andy has studied Mexican law and made connections with local police. Using his financial skills and Red's help, he exposes Hadley's criminal past.

In the finale, Hadley is arrested, and Andy and Red finally find peace, realizing that true freedom doesn't come from escape, but from the ability to protect what matters.

If there's one thing that unites all these imagined sequel versions, it's that audiences still miss the heroes of The Shawshank Redemption. While no sequel exists, this thought experiment serves as another reminder of why the original film became iconic.

And perhaps it's in this imagined continuation that it gets the closure that was missing back then. Earlier, we at zoomboola.com reported that a neural network created a script for "Titanic 2," where Rose resurrects Jack using future technology.