Mascots, Christopher Guest's long-awaited follow-up to the less-than-pleasant For Your Consideration, was announced as the latest film project to be produced by Netflix earlier this month, and he's just begun casting the feature. Guest will be writing and directing the mockumentary, his preferred filmmaking style, and today, it was announced that he's asked some familiar faces to return, including Jane Lynch, Bob Balaban, and Parker Posey. Jennifer Coolidge and John Michael Higgins have also been included in the cast, and there's been talk that Chris O'Dowd, the former star of The IT Crowd and co-star of Girls, might be joining the gang as well. As fans may remember, Guest and O'Dowd last collaborated on Family Tree, the unfortunately cancelled HBO comedy series about a man exploring his familial roots.

best-in-show-jane-lynch-jennifer-coolidge
Image via Warner Bros.

This is, of course, only the first round of players to be cast in the film, which centers on a gaggle of sports mascots trying to make it big. There are some glaring absences from the usual Guest line-up but as there will be a decade-long gap between when For Your Consideration was released and when Mascots will debut in 2016, its not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Guest might want to change up his formula a bit. This is especially true considering the fact that the improvisational style that Guest favors has become even more popular since Guest's last film came out. Even if Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara don't show up in the final cast list of the film, there's more than enough ready and able comedic voices that might very well flourish under Guest's direction; I have my fingers crossed that Amy Poehler will show up under his banner at some point. Regardless, Mascots has a basic enough premise that Guest's cast will be able to freely play up the material and find inventive impasses to express the dreams and buried personal wounds of this latest rogue's gallery.


christopher-guest-best-in-show
Image via Warner Bros.

 

RELATED: Best TV Shows Streaming on Netflix Right Now

RELATED: Best Movies Streaming on Netflix Right Now