There are those of us who have been waiting for a sequel to Zoolander since the credits stopped rolling on the original really, really, ridiculously good looking film. Now, Derek and his Blue Steel might actually be back, with Tropic Thunder/Iron Man 2 scribe Justin Theroux working with Ben Stiller on a follow-up.
According to Deadline Hollywood, Paramount has set Theroux to write and direct the sequel and that he’ll head to Paris Fashion Week to “immerse” himself in the world of current haute couture. Can’t he just watch Bruno? On second thoughts…
There’s no official word on plot or casting yet, though Stiller will clearly return and the studio is hoping to snag Owen Wilson as Hansel once more, though they haven’t set a deal yet. And Jonah Hill is apparently in negotiations to play the villain this time out, which makes us worry that he won’t live up to Will Ferrell’s superbly OTT Mugatu.
Oh, and it’ll need to be made for a relatively low budget – while the original made plenty on DVD and is a consistent seller on digital downloads, it didn’t exactly fly high at the box office (in fairness, it came out just after September 11, 2001, when America was not really looking for comedy) – with Paramount aiming to keep it under $50 million. Pay cuts for all!