We always figured it was one of those projects that gets talked about in interviews, and then never materializes, but Deadline has revealed that a sequel to the Ben Stiller comedy “Zoolander” looks set to move forward, nearly ten years after the release of the original.
Stiller wrote and directed the original, but this time he’s got company, with “Tropic Thunder” and “Iron Man 2” scribe Justin Theroux joining him on the script. The latter will make the film his second directorial effort, after the virtually unseen Billy Crudup starrer “Dedication” with Mandy Moore (which actually wasn’t that bad). Plans are afoot for Owen Wilson to hopefully reprise his role from the original, although that’s not set yet, while negotiations are underway for Jonah Hill to play the villain. Theroux will be in Paris next week for Fashion Week, to “immerse himself in what is current in fashion,” because, obviously, the aspect of the original that everyone loved was its accurate portrayal of the fashion world…
“Zoolander” was famously one of the first movies to be released after 9/11 (Oliver Stone even shows a poster for the film during “World Trade Center”), and underperformed as a result. But over the past decade it’s become a cult classic through DVD and endless showings on cable, so the project makes financial sense for Paramount — we can see it doing an “Austin Powers,” and matching the original’s total take in its first weekend. But is anyone really clamoring for this? The first film is amusing in fits and starts, but has become somewhat overrated over time; we’d rather see an “Anchorman” sequel, frankly, but with Theroux involved, this could be something interesting.