Cult movies from the late 1990s would not come much bigger than Varsity Blues. A part comedy, part sports drama title from MTV and Paramount Pictures that showcased the sheer passion and intensity brought about by West Texas football life. The movie would go onto to inspire a number of popular culture spoofs via Not Another Teen Movie, as well as laying the groundwork for the film and television series of the same name - Friday Night Lights.
With a mooted series slated for the small screen by CMT, one of the stars of the feature has come out to say that those plans have been scuppered. Instead, a Varsity Blues sequel for the cinemas is said to be in the works as James Van Der Beek discussed with Yahoo! Movies.
Forget CMT TV - VB2 A Movie in the Making
Enjoying a Facebook Live Q&A session with the website as he was promoting his comedy series What Would Diplo Do?, he was quizzed about a project that has been 18 years in the making. Playing the protagonist Jonathon "Mox" Moxon, a down on his luck quarterback who is given a start under trying circumstances, Van Der Beek was contextualizing where a modern adaptation would begin.
"You might be onto something," he remarked. "I'm not sure how much I can say, but there are some very serious talks about that. I really have thought about where is Mox today? I've given a lot of thought about it. There have been some meetings taking place with the people who actually made the movie. Originally, CMT was going to do a series with somebody who had not been really associated with the movie that we made, then that went away. So now it's not going to be a CMT series. But I met with the actual producer and we've been talking actively about that world and modernizing it. And where is Mox now. I really want to tell you what I have in mind but I don't think I can."
Van Beek Tries Out Varsity Blues: Redemption Title
Although the title was relatively low key at the time, the drama would boast a number of big Hollywood hitters. This included Jon Voight (Bud Kilmer), Amy Smart (Jules Harbor), Scott Cann (Charlie Tweeder) and two late actors in Ron Lester (Billy Bob) and Paul Walker (Lance Harbor).
The picture would straddle the line between drama and comedy. Such a tone would be consistent with the sequel for Van Der Beek.
"I say take Mox, who is this good teammate, and you put him in a hole. And you make it some kind of redemption story... It's fun though, it's fun."
Would Varsity Blues: Redemption work as a title? The 40-year old tried it out in his best trailer voice impression.
"I know, right! 'Coming this summer - Varsity Blues: Redemption... He doesn't want your life.'"
Source: Yahoo! Movies
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