The whole Sharknado phenomenon last summer was incredibly silly. It was the best kind of silly, obviously, but still, just a silly, silly time. Especially when you look back on it now, months later. The Internet practically ground itself to a halt the night it aired. I know because I was there, pounding out a 2,000-word recap in the wee hours of the morning. Hell, it was on the news. The real, actual news, that old people watch, on television. And someone invited Tara Reid to be a guest on a science show and they let her talk about whale sharks. It was insane. Everyone completely lost their minds. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
Naturally, Syfy and the studio behind the film, The Asylum, wanted to strike while the iron was hot, so they announced a sequel shortly after, which was named Sharknado 2: The Second One after a fan vote. And now, weeks before filming is set to begin in New York City, we have official confirmation: Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will return for the sequel. From The Daily News:
A sharknado is set to hit New York City – but the city will have some major help in surviving the shark attack.
A sequel to the Syfy blockbuster TV movie “Sharknado” will begin filming in the Big Apple next month, and the Daily News can exclusively report that Ian Ziering and Tara Reid will reprise their roles as Fin and April for the follow-up flick, which caused a social media sensation when it aired last summer.
So, here’s the thing. Or rather, the things, plural. They really caught lightning in bottle last time around. (Or, “they caught sharks in a tornado,” if you want to keep your metaphors on message.) Trying to double-back and re-create that a year later is going to be a hard sell, especially with the notoriously fickle Internet base that swept the film to popularity last time. (“I remember when it was about shark-filled tornadoes, man. Now it’s all corporate.”) Or, to put it another way, think of any action movie ever where a criminal decides to go back for one last score. How does that usually work out? I’ll tell you how: he ends up watching his best friend die before going down in a proverbial shark-filled tornado of bullets. History is not on their side, is what I’m getting at.
But, I will say this, and I mean it sincerely: Ian Ziering was really good in the first one. His ability to commit to playing the role straight despite being surrounded by an ocean of camp probably saved the whole thing. And it all brought me so much joy the first time around that I’ll probably tune in for the sequel even if I’m not as jazzed about it, out of some kind of short-term nostalgia, if nothing else. Tentatively, I’m on-board, because why not?
That said, bring back Nova or we riot.
