1999ās Mystery Men was deconstructing superhero films before we really had superhero films ā and thereās now hope for Mystery Men 2.
Whether it was an end-of-the-century predilection for looking forwards, who knows, but 1999 remains a renowned year in Hollywood history for giving us a glut of movies that were leagues ahead of their time. The factors that led to an incredible year of pioneering cinema, including
The Matrix, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, Fight Club and
The Blair Witch Project, are all covered in Brian Rafteryās great book,
Best. Movie. Year. Ever: How 1999 Blew Up the Big Screen.
One film that always gets a little overlooked, having released in such a seminal year, is
Mystery Men, the smart ensemble comedy that lampooned superhero films, before theyād really developed beyond the odd
Batman film.
With legacy sequels all the rage these days, the idea of a
Mystery Men sequel was put to one of the filmās original stars, Ben Stiller, who declared that heād love to return.
Heās now said that “Iām all for it. I had fun doing itā¦ Yeah, it would be a blast. It was a really, really fun cast. And thereās still some rage and fury inside me somewhere, I think.”
Stiller is spot-on regarding the cast, which also included Hank Azaria, William H Macy, Greg Kinnear, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, Kel Mitchell, Wes Studi, Geoffrey Rush, Lena Olin, Eddie Izzard, Claire Forlani and Tom Waits. It remains, to this day, a ridiculously-talented comedic ensemble, whom weād certainly love to see reunited for a sequel.
The idea seems to be just that at the moment, an idea with no development ongoing. Thatās according to Stiller (speaking to
comicbook.com), who said “thatās the first Iām hearing of it.ā
Superhero deconstructions and satires are becoming increasingly popular with movies like
Kick-Ass, which is getting a remake according to original director, Matthew Vaughn, and
Deadpool, which is reportedly getting a third film possibly set inside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As such, a
Mystery Men sequel would be surfing the wave of current cinematic trends, as opposed to the 1999 original, which underperformed at the box office, largely because audiences werenāt sure how to respond to a film that was effectively lampooning a superhero boom that didnāt yet exist.
Whilst this is likely as far as this story goes, the āre-quelā (is that a word? We think so) craze means a return to the world of
Mystery Men may happen yet. Is it a film youād like to see a sequel to, or one perhaps best left as a strange, end-of-the-century curio? Let us know in the comments below.
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