Seth Rogen vows to never resurrect Superbad for a spin-off or sequel, simply because it's too perfect.
The actor sat down with LADbible, virtually of course, to discuss his new movie: HBO Max's An American Pickle, a quirky comedy about a Jewish labourer who wakes up in modern-day Brooklyn after being brined for 100 years.
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Digging into his filmography and areas he could possibly revisit, Rogen said he had no intention of bringing back 'the long d*ck of the law' with Officer Michaels and Officer Slater. Rogen's reasoning for saying no is sound: Superbad requires no improvement.
The 2007 comedy, written by Rogen and Evan Goldberg and directed by Greg Mottola, is beloved by teens and adults alike. Following the misadventures of Seth (Jonah Hill) and Evan (Michael Cera) on their path to partying and losing their virginity, it's become a rite of passage for subsequent generations.
Rogen said: "I think of all the movies we've ever made, Superbad is the one I'd 100 percent probably never touch.
"Honestly, I don't think it requires improvement or anything to be built upon it. I'm unbelievably proud of it, it really holds up - people still watch it, high school kids come up to me telling me that they watched it for the first time and how they loved it. It's worked its way into being viewed as one of the better high school movies that's out there.
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"I'm so terrified of
subtracting from it in any way with a bad sequel or spin-off that I'd never do
it. I have so few actual good accomplishments that I'm horrified to f*** with
the ones I have [laughs]."
As for other movies he'd work into something new, This is the End tempts him the most. He said: "I don't think I'd make a sequel or spin-off to This Is The End, but we like the idea of famous people stuck in supernatural situations, basically."
Rogen, who openly discusses smoking weed, also revealed the highest he's ever been on set. He said: "I've been high hundreds of times on-set, I'd say.
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"The one time I can think of... when we were directing This is the End, there was a point I took a hit of weed and I went into the party scene that we were shooting.
"I walked into the room and there was literally like 30 of the most famous musicians, comedians and actors on the planet, and I then realised I had to control all of them, and coordinate this massive party. There was like 200 moving parts. I was like... this is the one situation where maybe I wish I had not taken a hit of weed five minutes ago. Five minutes later, it was fine [laughs]."
If 2020 calls for anything, it's The Interview's Dave Skylark and Aaron Rapaport taking on Donald Trump. Alas, after the North Korea hysteria caused by the original movie, Rogen said: "They're two characters I personally like. But I think the world at large rejected that... I don't know if we'll be revisiting that one. Sometimes you just gotta listen to the feedback [laughs]."
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While Rogen is no stranger to more dramatic work - his best performance can be seen in Steve Jobs - An American Pickle, directed by Brandon Trost, marks quite the feat: two performances in one, as he plays both Herschel and his great-grandson Ben. Through tech wizardry, as well as shooting the whole movie twice, they appear together seamlessly on screen.
It's a wacky premise, one Rogen thought was 'insane at first'.
"The character of Herschel, the guy who gets pickled, really reminded me of both my grandparents in a lot of ways," he said. "Kind of the history of my grandmother with the personality of my grandfather. I couldn't have related to it more.
"It was bizarre honestly, and it was slightly more emotional probably than I thought it was going to be, to be actually recreating what was a very close representation of my own family's history."
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An American Pickle is one of the few films to open in cinemas as the world starts slowly returning to normality, with UK theatres trickling back into operation since the turn of July.
"I'm not 100 percent aware of the climate in the UK right now as far as the pandemic goes," said Rogen. "I just hope people are safe, and if you're even questioning whether or not it's a good idea or not for you to do it, maybe watch it on streaming."
An American Pickle hits UK cinemas on 7 August. Superbad is also available to stream on Netflix now.
Words by Cameron Frew
Topics: Film, HBO, Seth Rogen, TV