In 2002, the BBC aired a comedy drama called Cruise of the Gods that was one part Galaxy Quest and one part Triangle/Howard’s Way. The basic conceit was that a group of actors from a once-famous sci-fi show reunite on a cruise with their fans and the old jealousies and issues raise their ugly heads once more. Now it looks like Focus Features is looking to remake it as a film, with original star Steve Coogan set to reprise his role and a working title of **The Great Beyond.
Gods featured a wealth of British comedy talent, with Rob Brydon, David Walliams, James Cordon and even Brian “it’s a puppet!” Conley (who appeared as himself in a cameo) aboard alongside Coogan. Their fictional show, The Children of Castor, was a fictional, cheese-laden 1980s post-apocalyptic adventure and the cast end up with very different careers. A couple are still successful, while others wish they’d never agreed to do the thing in the first place.
David Guion and Michael Handelman, who wrote the upcoming Steve Carell/Paul Rudd comedy Dinner for Schmucks, are being lined up to write and, in a new phase of their careers, direct the film, with Ben Stiller attached to produce alongside Coogan’s Baby Cow company.
Can Coogan carry a big movie comedy? **A Cock and Bull Story **worked to a certain level, but Hamlet 2 didn’t exactly set the box office alight, so perhaps this will be his shot.