Cult classic “Wet Hot American Summer” could finally make its long-awaited resurrection courtesy of Netflix, according to sources.
The 2001 comedy, which boasted a who’s who of up-and-coming comedic stars playing campers at fictional Camp Firewood, may be turned into a 10-episode prequel for the streaming service.
Netflix declined to comment.
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Exec produced by the movie’s creators, David Wain and Michael Showalter, the serialized “Wet Hot” would seek to reunite many of the original cast members who would play high-school-age characters despite the fact many of the actors are currently in their 40s.
While it might seem a tall order to reunite the original cast, the plan is to make it happen by having each of the actors shoot their scenes in just a few days because not every character will appear in every episode. The original cast included Paul Rudd, Bradley Cooper, Amy Poehler, Elizabeth Banks, Ken Marino, Molly Shannon, Christopher Meloni, Janeane Garofalo, David Hyde Pierce, Michael Ian Black, Joe Lo Truglio and Showalter. Wain also directed the movie.
Universal Pictures, distributor of the 2001 film, is currently considering an option to come aboard the project, but no decision has been made yet and the series will be made regardless.
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“Wet Hot” will follow in the mold Netflix first struck for “Arrested Development,” another comedy that existed prior to its run on the streaming service, which brought together the entire cast from the original Fox series for another run.
Ever since “Wet Hot” attracted a fanbase after a run that was more successful on homevideo than in theaters, the movie’s creators have long held out hope that they would create a sequel that never materialized. The creators have talked about doing a sequel in prequel form, but never in TV series form.
Rumors of a potential prequel or sequel to the movie sprouted up in 2011 when Wain revealed that he had been in talks to develop such a project. Wain requested that Universal re-release a DVD of “Wet Hot,” which would include special features for the movie’s then-10th anniversary, but the request was denied. In a Q&A he said, “I told them we would be willing to do a new prequel teaser short for it and new interviews and new material but they were like, ‘No, nobody buys it. Nobody cares.’”
A little more than a year later, Wain resurfaced with new information regarding a “Wet Hot” follow-up. He admitted to Laughspin that the project was slowly being made, and that he even “had more than a few pages” of a script.
A few months after that, in February 2012, Wain played the role of tiebreaker in an on-going debate between Showalter (co-writer and star) and Black (star) who went back and forth in the “will it or won’t it” game.
“What I’m saying is we’re writing the script and sort of making the initial preparations,” the writer-director confirmed to the Playlist. “No movie is a guarantee until it’s in theaters. But we’re at that stage of the process and we intend to make it. Can I guarantee that it’s going to happen? Of course not.”
Francesca Bacardi contributed to this story.