Beverly Hills, what a thrill!
Almost 40 years after the original ’80s comedy classic (at least according to my wife, who I trust implicitly on these matters), Troop Beverly Hills will get a sequel.
Deadline reports that Cameron Diaz is looking to star in the new Troop, which is being written and directed by Clea DuVall.
The original Troop Beverly Hills, directed by Jeff Kanew, starred Shelley Long as a Beverly Hills mom who, despite her pampered lifestyle, becomes the unlikely head of a Girl Scouts (or “Wilderness Girls”) troop.
The film, which was not a box-office hit in its day, gradually became a major cult favorite among kids who grew up watching it over and over on television. (See: My wife.) It’s also the rare female-driven spin on the typically male-dominated slobs-vs-snobs comedy, a la Animal House or Bad News Bears.
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If the sequel happens, it will be among the highest-profile projects for Diaz since she returned to acting after taking a break from Hollywood for more than a decade. Her first film back was Netflix’s Back in Action opposite Jamie Foxx. She co-stars in Jonah Hill’s Apple TV+ movie Outcome, which premieres this weekend on the streaming service. She will also reprise her role as Princess Fiona in the upcoming Shrek 5. That movie is currently scheduled for release in the summer of 2027.
When I tell my wife this news, I already know what her first question is going to be: “If this movie is a sequel and not a remake … does that mean Shelley Long might appear in it?” According to a Yahoo! article, while Long continued working in Hollywood into the 2020s, she “retreated from public life” following her 2021 film The Cleaner. But I guess we’ll see if she could be coaxed out of semi-retirement for a cameo.
