Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson surprised the crowds at Fashion Week in Paris with a strut on the catwalk. But this was no throwback to days gone by for the pair. They were there to announce in the most fitting way possible that Zoolander 2 was actually happening.
While the film release date is still almost a year away, Ben Stiller will reprise his role as Derek Zoolander and Owen Wilson is back on board as Hansel. Sources say that Will Farrell is back as amoral designer Mugatu. Christine Taylor is also back, presumably in her Matilda Jeffries role from the original film.
By the time the film hits in February of next year, it will have been 15 years since Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson originated the Zoolander and Hansel roles. The movie has become a cult favorite, occupying a place within the modeling world that Waiting for Guffman holds for theatre folk — an embarrassing reminder of how some of their members actually behave.
There is no word yet about anyone else from the original film who may make an appearance. In addition to Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson, it would be nice if Jerry Stiller, Milla Jovovich, and David Bowie could make the shoot.
Some film sequels get caught up in the trap of trying to do the original, but bigger, louder, more expensive. Perhaps the passing of so much time will blunt that tendency for Zoolander 2. But, then again, time didn’t stop The Blues Brothers 2000 from being an overdone piece of forgettable outlandishness.
On the other hand, more people quote The Wrath of Khan than Star trek: The Motion Picture. Not all sequels are doomed to oneupmanship.
But this is a film about the ridiculous. Let’s see what Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson bring to the table. The folks at Fashion Week sure loved seeing them.