The World Needs a Jim Carrey Legacy Sequel

Carrey certainly has the right to hold out for the right course. ONE Maybe the sequel needs to avoid feeling like a tired rehash, a la Stupid and stupider, so it’s going to take an ambitious director who can really lean into the Tex Avery cartoon-inspired craziness or bring something unique to the table like the New Jack Swing-influenced feel of Edge City in the original. As long as they rely on the best practical effect of the 90s, Carrey’s rubbery mug, they should be fine.

Ace Ventura

A pet detective seemed like a silly idea in 1994, but in a society that has dog stores, pet bakeries, and takes animal rights more seriously than ever, it seems like Ace would fit in just fine these days. Older sequels usually find their protagonist down on their luck when we catch up with them in the future, but one Ace Ventura the sequel could find the pet detective in high demand and at full blown celebrity status.

A high-profile case involving Instagram-famous pets could be a modern hook, but as social media shows, cute animal content of any kind will get the job done. As long as Ace doesn’t discover he has a long-lost child, this thing pretty much sells itself. Plus, it would be nice to have Ace be the star of a movie that isn’t horribly transphobic or racist!

The cable guy

While The cable guy didn’t exactly set the world on fire upon its 1996 release, its darker tone and central themes have proven ahead of its time, and now the film is seen as a cult classic. It does not necessarily fit the criteria laid down in this article, but The cable guy feels very relevant to our current content-filled moment. Carrey’s character Chip was a child raised by his television who, as an adult, was unable to distinguish reality from television-based examples of how life and relationships should be. Chip’s obsession with media and his tendency to fall into parasocial relationships feels very relevant in an internet age full of Stan culture and fabricated realities posted on social media.

Chip was uncannily prescient when he predicted how our televisions, computers and phones would all be connected, so how would he feel now that all his predictions have come true? There is definitely something to explore. Plus everyone who watched Apple TV+ Resignation this year, director Ben Stiller has operated at the top of his game. Perhaps this could be an example of both star and director returning to expand on their original creation.

The Truman Show

Perhaps the Carrey film best suited for a sequel, The Truman Show ended on a tantalizing note with Truman Burbank escaping his simulated existence at Seahaven after discovering his entire life had been a meticulously produced, 24/7 reality TV show. How would Truman move forward in a real world that does not accommodate his existence? How would he handle life as one of the most famous people on the planet, in a world where he could now see the cameras watching him? Catching up with Truman is a tempting prospect. Reality TV has come so much further since 1998 and now with social media we can all be the stars of our very own Truman Show.