When MacGruber hit the big screen in 2010, it barely made an impact. Not quite recouping its modest budget, the comedy quietly, but quickly faded – only to find a bigger audience later through streaming and DVD sales. Now that the co-writer and star, Will Forte, is enjoying positive reviews of his new Fox series The Last Man On Earth, the idea of MacGruber 2 is beginning to gain more traction.
Rumours of a sequel have been swirling for some time, with original cast member Ryan Phillipe having teased the project in an interview with MTV last year.
“We are going to do MacGruber 2 – we are very close to making it. And wait until you find out who’s going to be in it. The villain is going to blow your mind.
“They’re nearly done with the script, yeah. Will [Forte] and Jorma [Taccone] have been working on the script for a while, and there’s an audience for it now!”
Phillipe and Kristen Wiig have previously agreed to return and, apparently, a villain is already in place – so it is unsurprising that Forte was questioned about the project while promoting The Last Man On Earth to The Wrap, ahead of its March 1st premiere.
“It seems like we have a realistic shot at getting [MacGruber 2] made. We have a loose outline of the first couple of acts, which we’re really excited about. So, we’ve just got to flesh it out a little more.
“If [The Last Man On Earth] were to ever be successful enough to get a second season, we’d probably have to wait until after that season to make it. If the show isn’t successful enough to do that, we’d probably jump in right away.”
The message is clear, then. The speed with which MacGruber 2 will arrive is entirely dependent upon the way in which The Last Man On Earth is received by the audience. Judging by early reviews, however, MacGruber 2 may have to wait in the wings a while longer.
