Ben Stiller has “discussed” making a ‘Tropic Thunder’ spin-off movie with Tom Cruise.
The 59-year-old actor starred in and directed the 2008 satirical comedy – which featured Cruise, 62, as the foul-mouthed studio executive Les Grossman – and has now revealed he has spoken with the ‘Mission: Impossible’ star about potentially making a spin-off for the character, though has insisted “nothing is in the works” at the moment.
In an interview with Extra, Stiller said: “There have been some interchanges about it over the years, yeah.
“Look, Tom Cruise — one of my favorite human beings, one of our great movie stars of all time — it would be fun, but there is nothing in the works. But we have discussed it in the past.”
In 2022, it was reported by Deadline that Cruise was considering making a ‘Tropic Thunder’ spin-off with his ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ director Christopher McQuarrie, though updates on the project have been scarce since.
‘Tropic Thunder’ – which also stars Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. – follows a film crew who are forced to rely on their acting skills to navigate a real war zone in Southeast Asia after the movie’s director (Steve Coogan) dies in an accident.
While he believed ‘Tropic Thunder’ wouldn’t make it past the “script phase” now, Stiller insisted he “wouldn’t not make it today”.
He added: “Somebody should be making movies that are that out-there. If it is clear where the joke is, and it is clear what your point of view is, you have to take those chances … I think comedy is going to get there.”
Previously, Stiller – who plays the movie superstar Tugg Speedman in ‘Tropic Thunder’ – admitted it was unlikely the film could be made today because “edgier comedy is harder to do”.
When Collider asked if he could see ‘Tropic Thunder’ coming out now, the ‘Zoolander’ actor said: “I doubt it. Obviously, in this environment, edgier comedy is just harder to do. Definitely not at the scale we made it at, too, in terms of the economics of the business.
“I think even at the time we were fortunate to get it made, and I credit that, actually, to Steven Spielberg and DreamWorks. He read it and was like, ‘Alright, let’s make this thing.’ It’s a very inside movie when you think about it.”
The ‘Severance’ director pointed to Downey Jr.’s character Kirk Lazarus – a white actor who undergoes “pigmentation alteration” surgery to temporarily darken his skin for his portrayal of the black character – as one ‘Tropic Thunder’s main aspects that studios would be quick to reject now.
He continued: “Yeah, the idea of Robert playing that character who’s playing an African American character, I mean, incredibly dicey. Even at the time, of course, it was dicey too.”
Even so, the ‘Night at the Museum’ star added the joke was included to mock Hollywood actor’s willingness to push their morals aside in an effort to win awards, not to make fun of African Americans.
He explained: “The only reason we attempted it was I felt like the joke was very clear in terms of who that joke was on — actors trying to do anything to win awards.
“But now, in this environment, I don’t even know if I would have ventured to do it, to tell you the truth. I‘m being honest.”
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