Is the long-in-the-works “Arrested Development” movie finally about to come to fruition? Or is it another one of Gob’s illusions? According to creator Mitchell Hurwitz, fans may be about to get their movie and then some.
Sunday at the New Yorker Festival, Hurwitz revealed he hoped to shoot a limited run of new “Arrested Development” episodes that would catch fans up on what the characters have been up to in the five years since the cult series ended, serving as a bridge between the show and the movie.
The New Yorker Festival served as a Bluth family reunion — with Hurwitz, Jason Bateman, Will Arnett, Portia DeRossi, David Cross, Tony Hale, Jeffrey Tambor, Jessica Walter, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat gracing the stage together and producer Ron Howard participating via speakerphone — and it seems the whole cast is on board with the idea.
Hurwitz said as he was writing the script for the movie, he realized explaining how each character came to be where they are five years later would take too much time. His plan is to shoot nine to 10 episodes, each one focusing on a different character.
At the festival, Hurwitz said:
- I really have to say, we’ve talked about this, we’re all game, we hated be coy, we’ve been trying to put together this more ambitious idea and I think we’re very close, the script is halfway done and we have to get the film companies on board. They’ve always been great to us but you know times are tough and money is tight but I’m very hopeful, there is business left to be done but creatively we have a very specific plan of how it would come out and what we would do and when we would shoot it. Our hope is that, perhaps the series is in the fall.
Entertainment Weekly confirmed that producers are in talks with Showtime and Netflix to air the new episodes. According to Variety, 20th Century Fox TV is in discussions to bring back “Arrested Development” in some form, but a firm deal for both a movie and new episodes is not yet in place. Jason Bateman added fuel to the fire when he tweeted: “It’s true. We will do 10 episodes and the movie. Probably shoot them all together next summer for a release in early ’13. VERY excited!”
Since the cast and crew have been talking about a possible “Arrested Development” movie since the show ended in 2006, I’ll be a bit skeptical until until I actually see a trailer. But if Hurwitz’s ambitious plan comes to life, it’s going to be well worth the wait.
What do you think of Hurwitz’s plan? Do you think we’ll ever see an “Arrested Development” movie? What do you think Michael, Buster, Tobias and the rest of the Bluth clan would be up to today? Sound off in the comments section.
. . .
Follow Alexa Milan on Twitter at http://twitter.com/alexamilan.
And don’t forget to “Like” It’s Just Movies on Facebook at
http://www.facebook.com/itsjustmovies.
yes! I loved the show!