MacGruber the TV show adds Sam Elliott, Laurence Fishburne and Mickey Rourke to the cast. Richard Dean Anderson made famous the character of MacGyver in the original 1980s action TV series. That series was later rebooted with Lucas Till taking on the title role.
But of course in between there was also the SNL skit "MacGruber," which made fun of the MacGyver TV character and his almost super-human knack for escaping jams. Will Forte played SNL’s version of MacGyver beginning in 2007. Later, MacGruber starred in a series of commercials, then got his own movie in 2010. The movie unfortunately proved to be a flop, grossing just $9.3 million worldwide. Critics generally don’t love MacGruber much more than audiences, as the comedy film has earned just a 48% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film does have a devoted cult following. Those fans will be thrilled to know Forte is now ready to revive MacGruber with a TV series that also brings back his movie cast-mates Kristin Wiig and Ryan Phillippe. The plot concerns MacGruber being released from prison after ten years and taking on an old enemy.
The cast of MacGruber the TV series only continues to grow as Variety reports Elliott, Fishburne and Rourke have also jumped on board. Elliott is set to play MacGruber’s estranged father Perry, whose guidance MacGruber seeks. Fishburne plays General Barrett Fasoose, a decorated and highly respected military officer who happens to be married to MacGruber’s ex-wife Vicki St. Elmo (Wiig). And Rourke plays the movie’s villain Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth, a mysterious figure from MacGruber’s past.
Gravelly voiced Elliott received an Oscar nomination in 2019 for his supporting performance in A Star Is Born, and is also known for Road House and The Big Lebowski. Fishburne is himself an Oscar nominee, for his lead performance in 1995’s What’s Love Got to Do With It, and is also known for playing Morpheus in The Matrix. Fishburne previously starred alongside Wiig in the Richard Linklater film Where’d You Go Bernadette. Famed movie bad boy Rourke is of course also an Oscar nominee, snagging a nod for 2008’s The Wrestler, and is also noted for his dark turns in Sin City, Angel Heart and Iron Man 2. Rourke and Fishburne previously appeared together in the Francis Ford Coppola film Rumble Fish.
That trio of new MacGruber cast additions is certainly an interesting bunch. None of the three is necessarily associated with comedy, though all have done their turns in comedic material over the years (Elliott for instance was memorable as Ron Swanson's liberal doppelganger on Parks and Recreation). Casting Rourke as the bad guy also continues a MacGruber tradition of plugging well-known “problem” actors into villain roles, after Val Kilmer performed the same duty in the 2010 movie. Rourke as a villain and Elliott as MacGruber’s grizzled father indeed sound like very on-the-nose casting, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing. MacGruber the TV show is set to run for eight episodes on Peacock.
Source: Variety