Last we heard, Ben Stiller was working with fellow actor/writer/director Justin Theroux on a sequel to his cult hit, 2003’s fashion industry comedy “Zoolander.”
Appearing at NYCC for David Gordon Green’s “Your Highness” now, Theroux has provided several updates on the sequel. The gestating script is described as being in “good shape right now. I’m feeling very optimistic about it. We’re doing a few little tweaks before we submit it, but I’m very hopeful that I’m going to be working on that soon,” Theroux told MTV.
As previously mentioned, the sequel will be set 10 years after the original and will begin with Derek Zoolander (Stiller) and rival-turned-partner Hansel (Owen Wilson, whose return sounds more likely now) “in a pretty bad place. They’re about to ring 40’s bell. They have to claw their way back into the fashion industry in some way or another.” We’re sure some of Theroux’s attempts to hook with up models research at Paris Fashion Week will come into play here.
And what about a return from fashion mogul Jacobim Mugatu, played in the original by Will Ferrell? “Fingers crossed, anything is possible in Hollywood, but I think you’re going to see Mugatu. We are planning on seeing Mugatu. There are a couple new villains that step onto the stage, which we are all very happy about. And yes, Jonah is the inspiration for one of them.”
Theroux is referring, of course, to a villain set to be portrayed by Jonah Hill. The actor has been in discussion for role and told us at SXSW that he has also had involvement with the creation and development of the character. Hill did, however, reiterate that nothing is set in stone just yet and — judging by the fact Theroux doesn’t exactly sell the actor’s involvement — we presume it’s still only early days. The same can probably be said for the project as a whole but, fingers crossed, things will pan out well.