It’s likely that the image of Ben Stiller’s purple lycra outfit, his golden quiff and his inexplicably awful handlebar moustache is still burned into the memory of those who saw the 2004 comedy Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.
Well, this iconic look might just be returning to the silver screen once more – a Dodgeball sequel is reportedly in the works.
While details are still very sparse about what to expect from a sequel, according to Deadline, Vince Vaughn is already signed up for part two – he starred as Average Joe’s Gym owner in the original film.
Jordan VanDina, who wrote Hulu’s 2020 series The Binge (also starring Vaughn), is currently attached as the film’s scriptwriter. 20th Century Fox is developing the sequel.
According to Deadline, the new plot will continue the story of Vaughn’s character, Pete LaFleur. The original film followed a motley crew who sign up for a Las Vegas dodgeball competition to try and win its $50,000 prize. At stake was Average Joe’s, a modest local gym set to be bought and demolished by mega-corp Globo Gym. In charge of the takeover? Stiller’s character, the macho and ambitious White Goodman. Much of the film centred around their attempts to bring him down.
The story may indeed sound a bit harebrained, but it also made for a hilarious watch. The film became a massive success: Dodgeball has made $168 million worldwide. Not bad for a film made on a $20 million budget.
As of now, it’s not yet clear which other actors will be joining Vaughn in the sequel, or whether Ben Stiller will be returning for part two.
The original was jam-packed full of stars, with Hank Azaria, Justin Long, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Gary Cole, Jason Bateman, William Shatner and Missi Pyle all starring in the hit comedy.
Similarly, it’s not yet known whether Rawson Marshall Thurber, who directed and wrote the original will be involved in the spin-off film. In November 2021, in an interview with Deadline, he said: “I never thought about Dodgeball as a series, but that actually might be fun. I’m really proud of Dodgeball — it’s my first film and something people still really like, it seems.”
Thurber’s latest major project was 2021’s Red Notice, which remains Netflix’s most-watched English language film.
Vince Vaughn has recently starred in Curb Your Enthusiasm, and is set to have roles in the upcoming TV series Bad Monkey from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence, and in John Krasinski’s forthcoming American fantasy comedy film, IF.
