Fans rejoiced when Ron Burgundy finally got his sequel with Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues following a prolonged period of Paramount saying “no” to the prospect of a follow-up, and then everyone collectively agreed that it was Derek Zoolander’s turn.  Ben Stiller has been trying to get Zoolander 2 off the ground for a few years, but he ran into the same problem that Anchorman did: the first film wasn’t a box office success, and despite invading the zeitgeist through home video, the studio can’t see a profit benefit in greenlighting a sequel.  Last we heard, Stiller was working on the script with co-writer Justin Theroux, who planned on directing.  That was a couple of years ago, but in a recent interview about his HBO series The Leftovers, Theroux provided a rather promising update regarding Zoolander 2.  More after the jump.

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Image via HBO

Speaking with Vulture, Theroux said things are heating up with regards to Zoolander 2:

“Yeah, we’ve got a script for the sequel, and we’ve just been in talks again. We’re trying to sharpen it and hone it and, actually, I don’t want to jinx anything, but it looks like it actually might be starting to get up and running… It’s actually been a little hard with the show, but now I’m back full-time to dedicate time toward doing it. I met with Ben [Stiller] a couple times when I was in New York doing The Leftovers, and then I’m meeting again with him probably in September.”

Despite the heavy and bleak tone of The Leftovers, Theroux has solid experience with comedy having written Rock of Ages and Iron Man 2, and he also co-wrote Tropic Thunder.  While the initial plan was to have Theroux take over directing duties for Zoolander 2, he now says Stiller might get back in the director’s chair instead:

“I don’t think I’m going to [direct] it anymore. It really depends on whether the show gets picked up. If it gets picked up, then I don’t think I’ll have the time to do it. So it’ll probably get handed to Ben, which would be awesome.”

HBO still hasn’t renewed The Leftovers for a second season, but it sounds like if they do that’ll take Theroux off the table for Zoolander 2.  Nevertheless, it’s exciting to hear that the project isn’t totally dead, and I can only hope that Paramount does the right thing and gives the follow-up the greenlight that it deserves.  Prepare your orange mocha frappuccino celebrations accordingly.