The untimely death of  Robin Williams has certainly been felt, and will continue to reverberate in our minds and hearts, and on our screens, for years to come. Williams was at work on a number of projects before he died, four of which are films that are already in the can and will be seen this year and next.
The first project is Merry Friggin’ Christmas, an indie comedy with a November 7th release date, which also stars Joel McHale and Wendy McLendon-Covey. Williams plays McHale’s father, who joins his son on a road trip to retrieve some forgotten gifts. This sounds a little bit too close to some of Williams’s later film roles (like RV), which left a little something to be desired, but just the presence of the comedian on screen will be enough to get me to give it a chance.
The actor will then reprise his role as Teddy Roosevelt in the next Night at the Museum film, Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb. That comes to theatres on December 9th and I think we can all agree that Williams is definitely a highlight of the series.
Next year, Williams will be heard as the voice of an animated dog named Dennis, in the live-action film Absolutely Anything. The film also stars Simon Pegg and Kate Beckinsale, with voice work from almost all the surviving members of the Monty Python troupe.
The final performance from Robin Williams that we’re likely to see will be Boulevard, a drama that features the actor as a married man who picks up a gay hustler. That film premiered at Tribeca this year, but has no distributor as yet.
Finally, Williams was at work on a Mrs. Doubtfire 2, which was in development at Fox with director Christopher Columbus and scriptwriter David Berenbaum. That one is still up in the air, although it’s unlikely that the studio will try to get anyone to fill the actor’s shoes as the lead character.
Looking at that list of films yet to be released, and films that will never be made, I once more wish it was yesterday and that the world still had Robin Williams in it.
