Jack Black had arguably had a surprise hit last year when “A Minecraft Movie” dominated the box office, nearly hitting a billion dollars at the global box office, which is now getting the sequel treatment as Legendary and Warner Bros. are putting together that second installment. The funny man is now on the promotional tour for his mega-comedy soft-reboot of “Anaconda,” and during a recent interview to promote the new creative feature, Black mentioned a role he regrets from the world of Pixar, and it’s a key part in “The Incredibles.”
He’s been on the promotional trail and recently spoke with the British show, Capital FM (via Entertainment Weekly), that he regretted not landing the Syndrome role in Brad Bird’s “The Incredibles.”
“I was offered, and I do regret it, saying no… I was offered Syndrome in that fantastic movie ‘The Incredibles,’ one of my favorites of all time, by the way,” Black revealed in the interview. “And I said no because I was like, ‘Uhhh, [director] Brad Bird? Never heard of him!'” Confessing he had felt the character lacked depth, “This character that you’re offering me is like a villain, but he’s kinda one-dimensional. I’m interested, but I’d like to see a rewrite,” Black recalled telling the film’s director. “Will you add some dimensions to this character?’ And he was like, ‘Yeah, you’re done.'”
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Black added, “I learned a valuable lesson because when that movie came out, it was one of the best movies ever made,” Black admitted while looking back on the experience. “I was like, ‘Why was I being so difficult?!'”
If you’re not familiar with the part, Syndrome was an annoying young super-fan turned dastardly bad guy, who once dreamed of being Mr. Incredible’s sickkick, only to become a supervillain himself and bump off a swath of superheroes with his artificial intelligence combat robot. That role ultimately went to professional skateboarder turned actor, Jason Lee (“Mallrats,” “My Name Is Earl”).
Four years later, Black would link up with Pixar’s main competitors, DreamWorks Animation, to lead their equally successful and charming kung fu animated movie, “Kung Fu Panda,” which arguably was a much bigger and career-defining part (“Kung Fu Panda 4” releasing in 2024, alongside all sorts of subsequent specials and TV projects).
Perhaps Black can win over director Peter Sohn, as “The Incredibles 3” was announced in 2024, and there certainly could be a role for him, his fellow “Mr. Show” cast member Bob Odenkirk having voiced a good guy in the last one.
“Anaconda” is currently in theaters, and you can read The Playlist’s review right here. Also, that full interview with Black and co-star Paul Rudd is below.
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