Following the sort-of successes – depending on who you talk to – of Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues and Dumb And Dumber To, the time has come to revive another classic comedy franchise, Ben Stiller’s Zoolander. Work on the follow-up has languished in development since 2010, when Justin Theroux was attached to write and direct the supermodel sequel. Over the last few months, we’ve heard from Theroux that a finished script was in the bag, followed by talk from Will Ferrell that a table read was imminent. Now, we’ve a piece of news to suggest Zoolander 2 might be heading into production sooner than expected.
Courtesy of Deadline, we now know the status of the catwalk caper and the name of a brand new franchise addition – Penelope Cruz. No word on who she’ll play, but she will be appearing alongside the main core of returning cast members. In addition to directing the pic after Theroux pulled out from the position, Ben Stiller is of course on track to reprise his role as the brainless model with killer looks. Will Ferrell will be back to embrace deranged fashions as designer Mugatu, and Owen Wilson will provide the villainy in the shape of Hansel, Zoolander’s chief rival.
Honestly, I find it a bit unusual that it’s taken 13 years for the follow-up to gain traction with the studio. The original was a stand-out comedy, that only gets better with every repeat viewing. It’s likely in the face of the Anchorman and Dumb sequels, both featuring huge names, that Paramount has wised up and decided to take a chance on Zoolander 2.
We’ll keep you posted with any new cast additions, as well as any updates on production as soon as they land. Until then, why don’t you let us know what you think of Cruz’s involvement in the sequel – is it a good move, a bad move, or are you not really bothered?
