The worst-reviewed movie in the Star Wars saga is Episode I – The Phantom Menace, with a disappointing 55% “Fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. (Episode II – Attack of the Clones is objectively worse, but more people, I imagine, felt betrayed by the hype and subsequent letdown over the first film set in that universe in 16 years.) But that failing grade is still higher than every movie Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer have written and directed, combined.
The spoof “superstars” peaked with 7% for Date Movie, and most of their movie since, including Disaster Movie and the Hunger Games-mocking The Starving Games, have bottomed out at 1% and 0%. Friedberg and Seltzer’s terrible consistency would be impressive, if it weren’t so, well, terrible. But because their films generally turn a profit — Vampires Suck made $80 million on a $20 million budget — they’ve continued to work, mocking whatever kind of film is popular at the time. And what’s more popular than Star Wars?
Well, according to the 2016 box office, Captain America: Civil War, but because Chris Evans already starred in a perfect parody movie, Friedberg and Seltzer will instead helm Star Worlds Episode XXXIVE=MC2: The Force Awakens The Last Jedi Who Went Rogue. Covert Media CEO Paul Hanson told the Hollywood Reporter, “Jason and Aaron are a powerhouse duo who have proven time and time again that they are fully tapped into the what audiences love. Their fearless take on pop culture has us beyond thrilled to tackle the world’s most popular franchise with the two of them leading us into a galaxy far, far away.”
Look out, Mel Brooks.
(Via The Hollywood Reporter)
