Longtime Dark Horse editor Mike Richardson, a co-creator of the massively popular comic-turned-movie property The Mask, says that he has an actress in mind for a potential reboot, suggesting that — like Jim Carrey — the part would require a gifted physical comedian. Without giving any names, he makes it sound like the actress in question is pretty popular, suggesting that they would need to do a lot of convincing to get her on board. Of course, Todd McFarlane managed to get Jamie Foxx on board for Spawn, and the first of those movies was a lot less successful than The Mask was, so who knows?
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The original The Mask movie hit theaters in 1994, seven years after the story that introduced the mythology and only five years after the one that introduced the actual “Big Head” character most associated with The Mask. Jim Carrey, fresh off Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and in the middle of one of the biggest career explosions of the ’90s, starred as the film’s hero, alongside Cameron Diaz in her film debut. The movie was popular enough to spawn an animated series follow-up and, years later, a sequel that most would agree is best left forgotten in the form of Son of the Mask, which did not bring back any of the main actors from the first one. Fans of the comic, though, always wanted a darker, more violent take on the character, which is what the comics were, often playing on the absurdity of ultraviolence juxtaposed with comedy (think Tank Girl or Deadpool).
“I’d like to see a really good physical comedian [in the role],” Richardson told Forbes (via Bloody Disgusting). I have one in mind, but I’m not gonna say her name. We have to do a lot of convincing for this particular actor, but we’ll see….You never know what’s coming in the future. We have some ideas.”
The character’s powers come from a supernatural mask, but those powers come at a price, driving the hero mad (again, think Deadpool), so anybody could take it on, really, and some of the most interesting stories in the comics have come when a new face had to wear the mask, and dealt differently with the challenge than the ostensible hero.
“I’d like it to be another character film about a person dealing with absolute power,” added Richardson. “The whole theme of The Mask was we all say what we would do if we had absolute power, just like Stanley Ipkiss. When we get absolute power, we often resort to the most petty of endeavors and it’s overcoming our human nature and using the power for good.”
What do you think about bringing back The Mask? Sound off in the comments or hit me up at @russburlingame on Twitter.
