These days comic book moves rule the box office with practically every adaptation of some popular comic out there making a sizeable dent in people’s wallets in one way or another. However, that wasn’t always the case and during the ‘90s, it was actually quite unexpected for comic book movies that weren’t’ Batman or Superman to prove popular at the box office.
One such 90s comic book movie that did manage to buck that trend was The Mask, which proved to be massively popular when it released back in 1994 taking in over $351 million on a $23 million budget and cementing Jim Carrey as one of the biggest stars of that decade. Carrey played the role of Stanley Ipkiss, a hapless cartoon-loving bank clerk who, through the power of the titular mask, transformed into a brash, wisecracking, green-faced gangster clown in a yellow zoot suit. As a live cartoon character, Carrey had the chance to show his impeccable comedic talents and create one of the most iconic characters of his career.
Largely thanks to that remarkable performance by Carrey, The Mask gained a massive following, its own cartoon series and a video game for the Super Nintendo. The problem with Carrey’s performance was that no one else could easily just step into the role and make it work the same way again and was the reason why the film never got a proper sequel outside of a 2005 Son of the Mask attempt which is best left not spoken about.
However, Mark Richardson, the founder of Dark Horse Comics and creator of The Mask, says its time for The Mask to be rebooted, speaking to Forbes about the 25th anniversary of the film and launch of a new Mask comic. However Richardson is aware that if this movie were to work once again, it would need a similarly iconic performance from its lead and it turns out that he has a person in mind for the movie, though he wouldn’t reveal any names other than dropping that it’s a ”her name” revealing that he is thinking of this reboot being a female-led one instead.
All this though begs the question of who he could possibly have in mind as this new Mask. There are not many actresses that I can think of outside of Melissa McCarthy who could perhaps pull off a Carrey like performance, though much like Carrey she can often get on my nerves. Of course, if they are to do a reboot, they could easily shape it around whichever actress they require.
Personally, the real stand-out from the comics and movie to me was also Milo, the trusty Jack Russel companion, so as long as they have another Milo, I’m happy. Who would you cast in the lead role to bring The Mask back to life?
Last Updated: July 8, 2019
Pariah
July 8, 2019 at 15:42
Aaaaaaaaalrighty then?
Guz
July 8, 2019 at 15:42
Somebody stop me!
MaSeKind
July 8, 2019 at 15:42
Nope.
The issue here is Jim Carrey is unique. Weirdly enough I was watching a Hollywood Reporter roundtable with him and bunch of other comedians (Ted Danson, Sascha Baron Cohen, Henry Winkler) and basically they all just confirmed that Jim is one of a kind and there’s really never been someone as wacky as him out there and probably won’t ever be.
I just think that anyone trying to do a reboot (be it a man or a woman) will have/want to do something just as crazy to emulate him and that will definitely fail miserably
For the Emperor!
July 8, 2019 at 15:43
Opening scene – Ipkiss gets mugged while not having the Mask with him, dies. All his stuff is moved to storage. One day, on a Storage Wars type of auction, the new lead character buys his locker and finds the Mask…
For the Emperor!
July 8, 2019 at 15:43
And from the little I know of Aubrey Plaza mentioned by @monstercheddar:disqus she can pull off the “crazy storage wars” vibe 🙂
Dr Webster
July 8, 2019 at 15:43
Melissa McCarthy
Guz
July 8, 2019 at 15:51
No
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 8, 2019 at 15:43
Do you want to get banned????
Dr Webster
July 8, 2019 at 15:43
That chick from Girls. She’s hilarious and this movie will be the best movie ever made, because women have wanted a female_fronted mask reboot since Sex in the City 2 and Mama Mia 2
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 8, 2019 at 15:44
Ah yes. The formula of the times we live in:
– Take old stuff, mix and reboot
– Swap gender
– Cock (pun intended) it up
– Watch it flop at the box office
– Blame something else
For the Emperor!
July 8, 2019 at 15:44
You forgot a step right before “Watch it flop at the box office”
– Insult half the possible audience and tell them NOT to buy a ticket because you don’t need their money.
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 8, 2019 at 15:44
Right you are, that step is so kak, I’m still in disbelief/denial about it
Yahtzee
July 8, 2019 at 15:44
– Blame *someONE* else
Admiral Chief Umbra
July 8, 2019 at 15:45
Did you just assume someTHING was a someONE?
Dr Webster
July 8, 2019 at 19:44
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED 50 pts if you blame whitey (especially Whitey McBlokey)
Yondaime
July 9, 2019 at 13:00
I cam here to basically say this.
G8crasha
July 8, 2019 at 15:45
It could work, I guess. But not very many reboots land up being successful, unfortunately.
HvR
July 8, 2019 at 15:48
Does Melissa McCarthy have enough unique I’m fat jokes to fill a 90 minute feature film as the only main character?
Gr8_Balls_o_Fire
July 9, 2019 at 11:31
The creator just wants more money, so the easiest thing to do is gender-swap.
Yondaime
July 9, 2019 at 13:00
All gender swapped reboots receive a prompt miss from me…still haven’t watched ghost busters and I probably never will.