Ace Ventura is definitely a character of his time, one who launched the 90’s success story that was Jim Carrey, while grossing over $100m worldwide and creating catchphrases that have echoed through to today.
Now, off the back of the news that Morgan Creek Productions, the company behind the film and its sequel, When Nature Calls, are rebranding, comes the announcement from Deadline that they plan to revive the pet detective.
It’s highly unlikely that Carrey will return, having recently revealed that his old self doesn’t exist anymore, and with Man on the Moon documentary Jim and Andy: The Great Beyond set to underline his underrated strengths as an actor, he’ll probably concentrate on more serious projects, such as Michel Gondry directed Showtime half-hour, Kidding.
Morgan Creek Entertainment Group will move forward with the Ace Ventura franchise regardless, saying “we wanted to do a mainstream theatrical production relaunch,” stressing that the idea is not to do a straight remake but a new movie in the spirit of the original, part of Morgan Creek’s strategy to honor its library properties with the new takes without undercutting them. “Because it’s episodic in nature, about a pet detective, it also lends itself to a traditional single-camera series franchise.”
In addition to Ace Ventura, Morgan Creek is also looking to exploit several other titles in its library, with development underway on feature film and TV reboots of the likes of Young Guns, Major League, Nightbreed, Diabolique, and Pacific Heights.
So what do you think? Will the Ace Ventura revival be another Dumb and Dumber Too or a case of “Alrighty then”?