In the current climate, another comedy sequel cluttering up the multiplexes isn’t anything out of the ordinary. Taking a glance back over this year’s releases and it’s safe to say that churning out follow-ups to small budget comedies is becoming somewhat of a trend. Just recently Dumb And Dumber To hit theatres, twenty years after the original, kickstarting another fad. Now, it seems that hitting up studio back catalogues for inspiration and firing out sequels years, even decades after the originals were released, is the way to go. This means we might soon be in store for Encino Man 2.
For those outside of the US, the original went by the name California Man (which is how I remember it). Released back in 1992, it told the story of a couple of high schoolers, Sean Astin and Pauly Shore, who discover a perfectly-preserved caveman in a block of ice. They defrost him and unleash a wacky Brendan Fraser, whose very existence transforms the two lads into overnight cool kids. It was a fun comedy that all kids from the early 90s look back on fondly. But do we need another one?
Whether we need or want one isn’t the issue, as Pauly Shore told Variety recently that he’d be more than happy to return:
“Encino Man 2 — let’s do it,” he said. “My agent and I are talking about it.”
Granted, it’s not exactly the greenlight, but if fans of the first flick are keen then it might be a shoo-in for execs. After all, the original made back its tiny $7 million budget and then some after it raked in $40 million at the U.S. box office. Those kinds of numbers speak for themselves. With Shore going on to say that original screenwriter Shawn Schepps hasn’t yet inked out a first draft, but he’s got a cool idea, this might be a reality sooner rather than later.
What do you think, would you pay to see Encino Man 2?