Life is full of unexpected comebacks, and it seems Ace Ventura, the iconic pet detective is on the comeback trail, some 27 years after the first film hit cinemas.
Those of us who grew up in the 90s will no doubt remember Jim Carrey at his most Jim Carrey as Ace Ventura, the Hawaiian shirt-wearing sleuth with an affinity for solving cases specifically related to animals. The 90s were weird.
The original Ace Ventura: Pet Detective did well enough to spawn a sequel just one year later, but the franchise went quiet after that. Google tells me that an Ace Ventura Jr. released in 2009, but the fact I'm only just learning about this third movie today would suggest that wasn't quite a smash hit. The good news is that we're finally getting a proper third film to round out the Ace Ventura trilogy, and it's coming from the same writers who delivered 2019's surprisingly great Sonic The Hedgehog.
The exciting news comes via an interview by distributor Park Circus and production company Morgan Creek, which produced the original Ace Ventura films.
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"We're pretty excited about our franchise developments with Exorcist and the Ace Ventura franchise - it's noticeable from the 3 million fans chatting on the official Facebook page for Ace Ventura that audiences are clamouring for a 3rd installment," Morgan Creek explained. "During COVID, audiences have been in love and are thrilled to have beloved characters brought back with new stories. Ace Ventura will see a new day at Amazon as a major motion-picture/theatrical with the Sonic The Hedgehog writers."
That's pretty much all the info we have so far, but it's an encouraging sign that Sonic The Hedgehog writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller have already worked with Carrey. He played the villainous Dr. Robotnik in the 2019 film, remember, and turned in a vintage Carrey performance in the process. It is important to note, however, that while Ace Ventura 3 has been confirmed, there's no word yet on whether or not Carrey will return to the role that helped launch his career.
I'd certainly hope that Amazon wouldn't be going ahead with this project unless it was confident it could get Carrey on board, but... well, Ace Ventura Jr. did happen, didn't it? We'll have to wait and see, and hope that the man himself dons the Hawaiian shirt one last time.
Featured Image Credit: Warner Bros.