Credit: Dodgeball
In surprising (but so surprising) news, Justin Long revealed the possibility of a Dodgeball sequel. To recall, the beloved 2004 classic comedy centers around Peter La Fleur (Vince Vaughn), the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, which isn’t doing so well financially. Globo-Gym, owned by health nut White Goodman, is adamant about putting the gym out of business unless Peter can raise $50,000 to keep his mortgage. In order to save the gym, Peter and his ragtag group enter a dodgeball contest with a big cash prize. In response, Goodman and his team enter the competition to ensure Peter’s chances of succeeding fail.
Dodgeball was a huge success when it came out in 2004. The film was silly overall, but that’s what made it funny in the first place. The cast was top-notch, and Ben Stiller’s White Goodman is probably one of the best comedy villains of the modern era. The film made $168.4 million at the box office, which is pretty good for the genre. With nearly everything turning into a sequel these days, it’s genuinely shocking that a sequel to the 2004 classic hasn’t been made; however, writer/director Rawson Marshall Thurber explained to The Hollywood Reporter back in 2018 why he has no intentions of creating a sequel to Dodgeball:
Credit: Dodgeball
“I really appreciate how much people love that movie. It’s near and dear to my heart, but I feel like I said everything I needed to say in one film.” When it comes to Dodgeball, Thurber is right in not having much interest in doing a sequel as he tied up all the loose ends within the feature. Fleur saves his gym, gets the girl, and tops his enemy, White Goodman. That isn’t to say that doing a sequel will be an instant fail, but Dodgeball comes across as a one-and-done type movie, but according to the original cast member Justin Long, Vince Vaughn has a great idea for the next installment:
“Vince had been telling me that he has this great idea for a sequel,” Long told ComicBook.com. “I hope that it ends up happening, but I think Ben is a little, what he told me on the podcast was that he’s a little trepidatious about doing a sequel to something so beloved, something enjoy so much.”
It’s understandable why Ben Stiller is so hesitant about making another sequel, as he doesn’t exactly have a strong history with them. The Night of the Museum and Madagascar franchises was decent overall, but the follow-ups to both Meet the Parents and Zoolander were both trashed by critics and fans. Given that Stiller is fresh off the latter, he likely feels the same way that Thurber does when it comes to the 2004 film. It’s clear that Stiller enjoys playing the character, based on Long’s description during his time onset of Dodgeball:
Credit: Dodgeball
“I know Ben loves Dodgeball and loves that character,” he said. “I remember how much fun he had playing it. He was always laughing. When we got together years later to do a little mini-reunion for this charity and Ben put on the mustache again, I remember him talking about how happy it made him playing White Goodman again and how much fun that character was.”
It should be interesting to see if Vince Vaughn can convince Stiller to put on the mustache again. That brand of comedy isn’t exactly the hottest genre going in theaters at the moment, but with the right script, a Dodgeball sequel can really help light a fire on a genre that isn’t shown much love these days. If a sequel does come out, hopefully, it’s something truly worth waiting for.
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