Pauly Shore campaigns to make an Encino Man 2 with Brendan Fraser. Les Mayfield directed the 1992 comedy, which was received poorly by critics at the time but found success with audiences. Although Shore was awarded a Razzie for Worst New Actor for his performance in the film, '90s kids affectionately imitate many of his iconic lines in his character's exaggerated Californian drawl to this day.
In the buddy comedy, a pair of teenagers find themselves unexpectedly saddled with an unfrozen caveman (Fraser). Dave (Sean Astin) and Stoney (Shore) are failing to attain popularity at their high school in Los Angeles, when Dave digs up a block of ice while digging a pool in his parents' backyard. The ice inevitably melts, revealing a caveman who has been frozen alive inside. "Link," as his new friends name him, gets passed off as an exchange student from Estonia and enrolls in school, where his Neanderthal capabilities ironically help him integrate into teen society more quickly than his modern counterparts could. Shore has previously mentioned he'd be down to get the gang back together: just last year, he asked fans on Instagram to collectively voice their desire for a sequel to Disney+ on social media.
To commemorate the 29th anniversary of Encino Man's opening weekend, Shore posted a selfie on Instagram that he and Fraser took on set. In his caption, Shore suggests that fans who would like to see a sequel get made let Disney+ know their stance. He instructs, "Hit up Disney+ and tell them myself, Brendan, and Sean are ready for the sequel." Although neither Fraser nor Astin has spoken up about the prospect of Encino Man 2, Shore's message suggests that the former costars are on the same page about a hypothetical second film. Here's the full post below:
The actor also explains that the peace sign Fraser is making in the photo is referencing Encino Man 2. The implication could either be that he and Fraser had hoped to make a sequel when the photo was taken, or that Shore is interpreting the gesture in context. Along with the photo, the actor shared a touching message to his former costar that reads "Peace Brendan, miss you. Hope you’re doing great in this crazy world." Based on his shoutout, it's likely that the costars haven't recently discussed the project. No official plans to make Encino Man 2 have been confirmed.
Shore is far from the only person who would support Encino Man 2, so it's unfortunate that his calls for a reboot have thus far gone unanswered. As his costars have yet to chime in, one can only hope they'd be on board. As for his insistence on Disney+ as his network of choice, the comedian may want to shop around for a streaming service whose content slate is more amenable to '90s stoner comedy reboots. Shore's impression of an eccentric Valley teen made the movie a hit among younger audiences in the '90s, and it would be fun to see the comedian figure out how to unfreeze his character in time.
Source: Pauly Shore/Instagram