It looks as if Ed Helms will be playing Rusty Griswold in New Line’s Vacation after all. Rumors swirled earlier this year that Helms would be taking on the lead role in the continuation of the Vacation franchise, but when Steve asked him back in March if he was involved with the film he said he hadn’t had any conversations about the film. Horrible Bosses screenwriters John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein signed on to direct their own script back in February, and now Helms has officially entered negotiations to star. Hit the jump for more.
Though he denied having any conversations about joining Vacation back in March, when Steve told Helms he’d make a perfect fit to head up the Griswold family, he responded thusly:
“Well it could be, I suppose. I understand that project is afloat, but I don’t know where I fit into that right now.â€
Variety now reports that Helms is in talks to star as Rusty Griswold, as the story finds him handling the misadventures of a family of his own. Producer David Dobkin told Steve that this Vacation isn’t an entire reboot of the series, it’s just Rusty’s story. If Helms’ deal closes, the plan is to start production early next year after the actor wraps The Hangover Part III and the upcoming season of The Office. In the meantime, New Line would like Daley and Goldstein to cut the script down a bit in order to lower the budget.
As Steve said earlier, Helms seems like the perfect choice to head up the new Vacation. It’ll be interesting to see what actors they surround him with to fill out the cast, but Daley and Goldstein are on a roll following Horrible Bosses. They’re working on Horrible Bosses sequel, scripted the magician comedy The Incredible Burt Wonderstone with Steve Carell and Jim Carrey, and they wrote the upcoming Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers.