Vince Vaughn shared a positive update for those dreaming of a sequel to Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Vaughn confirmed that he had an idea for a sequel that the studio likes. However, the project still needs Ben Stiller’s stamp of approval.
“They’ve always talked about these things forever and I had an idea that was fun and the studio likes it, so we’ll see where it goes,” Vaughn told The Hollywood Reporter at the Christmas with the Campbells premiere Wednesday night. “I think Ben is open to doing it, I think he’s in the same boat as me actually which is if it’s a really fun and great idea then that’s fun, but if it’s just something to go do it again then why?”
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“You would just want to make sure going into Dodgeball that it feels like a nice continuation and a story that could stand on its own,” Vaughn told THR. “I think for all of us if it feels right and it’s funny, it would be something to go back to, and if it’s not, it’s just another idea getting kicked around.” Vaughn pointed to A Christmas Story Christmas, which he co-produced, as a sequel that succeeded in not just regurgitating the same story as the original A Christmas Story.
In late October, Justin Long told ComicBook.com that Vaughn had an idea for a Dodgeball 2, but Stiller would need to approve. Stiller might be apprehensive, since his last sequel, Zoolander 2, was a box-office bomb and a critical dud. The multi-hyphenate has also been busy with serious television projects like Escape at Dannemora and Severance.
“Of course, I would love to do it and I hope that it ends up happening, but I think Ben is a little, what he told me on that podcast was that he’s a little trepidatious about doing a sequel to something so beloved, something that people enjoy so much that. It’s very risky, you don’t wanna s— on the original, you want something just as good. So I think he’s a little wary of that, of trying to recreate something that was very specific to that time, but I hope he comes around on it. Vince is a very convincing person, so I’m just hoping Vince can convince him with his idea. It’s a funny idea, I don’t wanna say what it is.”
Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story was written and directed by Rawson Marshall Thurber, and produced by Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld. Vaughn starred as Peter LaFleur, the owner of Average Joe’s Gym, who enters a Las Vegas dodgeball tournament to save their local gym from being taken over by a corporate chain. Stiller starred as his rival, Globo Gym owner White Goodman. Christine Taylor, Long, Stephen Root, Alan Tudyk, Missi Pyle, Jason Bateman, William Shatner, Patton Oswalt, and the late Rip Torn also starred. Dodgeball was a big hit, grossing $168.4 million on a $20 million budget. It is available to stream on HBO Max.
