New Line is pushing ahead with its quest to reboot the much-loved National Lampoon’s Vacation franchise. You may begin wailing now.
The studio has hired writing team Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley to write a new Vacation flick (without the National Lampoon label – perhaps wise after that brand become a by-word for dreck and dross in recent years), which will focus on Rusty Griswold, the son of Chevy Chase’s heroic buffoon, Clark W. Griswold.
Now all grown up, Rusty decides to follow in his father’s footsteps and take his family on a trip to Walley World – the same quest that preoccupied Clark in the original, Harold Ramis-directed Vacation, back in 1983. Chase will apparently appear in the film as Clark, now a grandfather, although there’s no word on whether Beverly D’Angelo will reappear as his wife, Ellen.
There’s also no word yet on whether this is going to focus on bawdy, adult humour, like the original and Amy Heckerling’s National Lampoon’s European Vacation, or more of a family film like the later entries, such as the perennial Empire favourite, National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. But the presence of Wedding Crashers director, David Dobkin, as producer might be a hint that this could be a return to the raunch of the early episodes.
Interestingly, although Chase will provide some continuity between films, it’s entirely possible that the film will see Rusty played, for the fifth time, by a different actor. Anthony Michael Hall took the role in Vacation, was replaced by Jason Lively for European Vacation, while Johnny Galecki – now the lead in The Big Bang Theory – played a younger Rusty in Christmas Vacation. Ethan Embry did the Rusty honours in Vegas Vacation, although we don’t really want to talk about that.
And now chances are that New Line will want an established comedy star – a Paul Rudd or a Seth Rogen, perhaps – to play Rusty in this new, as-yet untitled Vacation. Good thing? Bad thing? Your thoughts, as ever, below…