Mystery Men star Ben Stiller recently reflected on the 1999 superhero comedy and says that he'd be thrilled to return for a sequel. Mystery Men underperformed upon its release, both with critics and with audiences. The movie, which lampooned the superhero genre, featured Stiller as Mr. Furious, a wannabe hero powered by his unbridled rage - even though that power is rarely on display. It follows Furious as he assembles a ragtag group of Z-list heroes to protect Champion City after the movie's real superhero, Greg Kinnear's Captain Amazing, is kidnapped.
Supporting Stiller is an impressive cast portraying the other fledgling heroes on the team. William H. Macy plays the Shoveler, who gets his name from his signature weapon/digging tool. Hank Azaria is the Blue Raja, who can handle a fork with deadly proficiency. Janeane Garofalo's Bowler fights with a sentient bowling bowl containing her father's skull. Kel Mitchell, Paul Reubens, Tom Waits, Geoffrey Rush, and more fill out the stacked cast in a pretty remarkable lineup for a movie that would underwhelm upon its release. But it's that cast that is a large part of the reason Stiller says he'd be open to returning to Champion City.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Stiller was asked if he'd ever be interested in reprising his role should a potential sequel ever come to be. He said he'd never really considered the idea, but that he'd be happy to return, citing how much fun it was working with the star-studded cast. He joked that he even still had some of Mr. Furious' pent-up rage inside him. Check out his comments below:
That's the first I'm hearing of it, but sure. I'm all for it. I had fun doing it... Yeah, it would be a blast. It was a really, really fun cast. And there's still some rage and fury inside me somewhere, I think.
While Stiller's comments were about a totally theoretical sequel, now could be the perfect time for a follow-up to the movie. Mystery Men was arguably ahead of its time in the way it subverted audiences' expectations of the superhero genre. With properties like The Boys and Deadpool now bringing in massive audiences and critical acclaim while also dissecting the idea of superheroes in pop culture, viewers are obviously hungry for superhero stories that are unlike the countless ones they've seen before. If ever there was a time for a Mystery Men 2, now is probably it.
While a Mystery Men sequel is nothing but a pipe dream at the moment, there's some hope to be had in the fact that Stiller seems like he'd be eager to return. Recent hits have proven there's a massive audience for expectation-defying superhero stories, and given the following Mystery Men has built in the years since its release, a follow-up could be the next project to flip the genre on its head. Hopefully Stiller gets his wish and the franchise gets the recognition it deserves the second time around.
Source: ComicBook.com