Ugh. The much-anticipated Zoolander 2 is at a stand-still yet again. It seems that everybody is on board -- except the studio.
Even though it’s apparently one of Terrence Malick‘s favorite films, Paramount isn’t coming off as too enthusiastic about making a sequel to Zoolander. While the Ben Stiller film was a box office disappointment when it was released in 2001 – heavily due to the fact that it came out only weeks after 9/11 – the fanbase it’s built up on home video over the years has made development move forward on a sequel.
We heard in February of last year that Justin Theroux would direct and co-write the movie, but it was then reported in May of that same year that the studio had passed on the film. A story circulated this past March that shooting was currently underway, but then it was said that there wasn’t even a start date for the thing. A long, complicated saga for the follow-up.
Things have just gotten a little longer and a little more complicated, as Stiller has told ThePlaylist that the movie is at Paramount, but isn’t moving forward right now, despite a script being done. His quote is as follows:
“It’s kind of coming along slowly, we have a script that we like and we’re just waiting for the studio to figure it out. But I think we all want to do it. We’re raring to go, not quite sure where the studio’s at. Hopefully it’ll come together.”
I have to be honest here and say that I don’t see this coming together. You have to remember that such a big distance between an original movie and a sequel can hurt its chances at being a box office success. If this was going forward three or four years ago, I could see the potential for a hit. But when you have what will be a difference of at least eleven years between an original movie (that tanked) and its sequel, some optimism is required to expect a big winner.
While there is a cult audience, how far can that take a sequel, financially speaking? Someone took a bet with The Boondock Saints II, and while it might have made a profit, I’m not sure if it was worth the effort to get the thing made. While Zoolander is a much better movie than Troy Duffy‘s monstrosity, I don’t see any more installments in the Derek Zoolander story making their way to theaters.
Thanks to The Film Stage for the scoop.