After nearly 20 years, the 2001 hit comedy The Animal is finally getting a sequel called The Animal 2, Deadline reported. Rob Schneider will return to the sequel and star again as Marvin Mange, a police officer who becomes part animal courtesy of a mad scientist who uses animal organs to rebuild him after an accident. The sequel has gotten the green light to start filming, with Schneider co-writing the screenplay with his wife Patricia Schneider and his writing partner Jamie Lissow. He is also on board to direct and produce the film alongside Michael McConnell of Zero Gravity management.
According to the sequel’s official logline, Marvin Mange has turned into “an old dog” who now needs to “learn new tricks” as he embarks on a hunt to track-down a new so-called “uber-animal”, who is much more powerful than he is. The sequel will introduce a retired Marvin who gets into another accident and has to be put together with new animal parts again. This procedure keeps him in an animalistic state as he attempts to take on a menacing beast that is threatening a town.
The Animal 2 is expected to follow a very similar plot line to the original film. Released in 2001, the original film was directed by Luke Greenfield and stars Schneider, Colleen Haskell, Ed Asner, Guy Torrey, Adam Sandler, and others. It follows the story of Marvin Mange, a man who is struggling to fulfill a lifelong dream to become a cop. He is critically injured in a car accident, but his life takes a fortunate turn of events when a deranged scientist rebuilds him with animal organs. This renews him, and Marvin leaves his weakness behind as he turns into a super-cop. But his fame and fortune as a cop is short-lived, an unexpected side-effect of his procedure is that animal instincts start to take over his body at all the wrong moments. The film was met with mixed reviews, but nonetheless developed a cult-following over the last couple of decades. The undying support and interest in the film is likely what inspired Schneider to move forward with a sequel.
The Animal 2 is not the only film that Schneider has been working on. Most recently, he directed and starred in Daddy Daughter Trip, which was released last week. He is also well-known for his appearances in Hot Chick, Grown Ups, 50 First Dates, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, and other notable comedies.
The Animal 2 is set to begin production early next year, and will premiere on the free-streaming platform Tubi at some point in 2023. An official release date has not been confirmed yet.