This is the moment fans of Rob Schneider have been waiting for. Deadline reports that the Schneider has been hard at work with plans to develop a sequel to The Animal, the 2001 comedy featuring the character actor as a man who becomes part animal courtesy of a mad scientist. Schneider will be reprising his role as animalistic police evidence clerk Marvin Mange. The sequel is reportedly very near to getting its green light at the free streaming platform Tubi.
Schneider is also on board to direct the feature film and co-wrote the screenplay for the sequel, dubbed The Animal 2, alongside his wife, Patricia Schneider, and writing partner, Jamie Lissow. Rob Schneider is also producing alongside Michael McConnell of Zero Gravity management. Executive producers are Scott Hemming of Content Partner’s Revolution Studios, as well as Marianne Wunch, Ani Kevork, and Fernando Szew of MarVista Entertainment.
MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY
According to the sequel’s official logline, Schneider is back as Marvin Mange, who’s now an “old dog” who “needs to learn new tricks as he hunts down a new uber-animal with powers far beyond his own.” Marvin is also getting an upgrade, as word on the sequel’s plot is that he comes out of retirement when he’s in an accident and needs to be put together again with new animal parts. The “Animal” is then back to take on a new foe threatening a village.
What Will The Animal 2 Have to Say That Wasn’t Explored in Part 1?
Sony Pictures Releasing
Released in 2001, The Animal was directed by Luke Greenfield and written by Schneider and Tom Brady (no, not that Tom Brady). It stars Schneider, Colleen Haskell, John C. McGinley, Guy Torry, and Ed Asner. It also featured appearances by other stars like Adam Sandler, Norm Macdonald, Cloris Leachman, and Harry Dean Stanton. The film was not exactly met with very warm reviews, but the oddball comedy is not without its fans, garnering a cult following over the past two decades. Perhaps this was what helped inspire Schneider to move forward with plans for a sequel.
The Animal was also just one of several bizarre comedies Schneider had appeared in from an era when the actor was taking on one bizarre starring role after another. His other films from that time include movies like The Hot Chick and a pair of Deuce Bigalow movies. More recently, Schneidedr has popped up in films like The Wrong Missy, Hubie Halloween, and Home Team. He also directed, produced, and starred in the film Daddy Daughter Trip. On the small screen, Schneider created and starred in the short-lived Netflix comedy series Real Rob. Last year, he appeared as a contestant on The Masked Singer, performing as a hamster.
The Animal 2 is expected to premiere on Tubi in 2023. An official release date has not yet been announced as the green light still has to formally come in from Tubi, but it sounds like it’s pretty much all systems go.
