Editorial Staff
It’s been just over ten years since Warner Bros started mobilizing a “Get Smart” sequel for Steve Carell, but with the actor’s rising statue in that time, coupled with the fact that the film take on the ’60s comedy isn’t exactly among Carell’s biggest and best, it’d seem everyone went off the idea.
In a chat with Flickering Myth, director Peter Seagal – out promoting his most recent film, Jennifer Lopez starrer “Second Act” – confirmed that plans for a sequel to the comedy have been abandoned.
“I think that the time for a sequel to that movie has passed. Steve’s getting a little older to play Max [laughs]. But you never can tell. I mean, I certainly think there’s a rich history to that franchise that maybe you could do a reimagining or a prequel with a new cast in it. But I believe for that particular cast, the ship has probably sailed on that one.”
Have to agree there, it’s much more likely we’ll see a new take on “Get Smart” in the coming years – just as we will “The A-Team” and “Maverick” – with a new lot of players.
Segal continues, “We have thought about doing a sequel a couple of times. But since we made our movie, Dwayne Johnson and Anne Hathaway have become massive superstars, and so it’s always hard to put together a cast like that again because, as budgets are shrinking, you’re also trying to keep up with the Joneses, and, on an action-comedy like that, you want to give the audience the most bang for their buck.”
A few years back, Segal mentioned that Carell himself had written a script for a “Get Smart 2”, so clearly the actor enjoyed playing Maxwell Smart.
Released in June of 2008, “Get Smart” starred Steve Carell, Anne Hathaway, Dwayne Johnson, Alan Arkin, Terence Stamp and James Caan. It grossed $130.3 million domestically and $100.3 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $230.7 million. A direct-to-DVD spin-off “Get Smart’s Bruce and Lloyd: Out of Control”, which featured cameos by Hathaway and Terry Crews, was released in July of 2008.
