Jorma Taccone will direct MacGruber, based on the “Saturday Night Live” sketch parody of the TV show “MacGyver,” reports Production Weekly. Filming begins next month in New Mexico.
The sketch stars Will Forte and Kristen Wiig (who replaced Maya Rudolph). Richard Dean Anderson (who played the title role in the “MacGyver” series) has also appeared on “MacGruber.” The shorts are written by Forte, John Solomon, and Taccone.
Taccone is responsible for creating the character and directed most of the spots with the exception of the Jonah Hill and Shia LaBeouf episodes, which were both directed by John Solomon.
The sketch revolves around MacGruber always becoming consumed with some sort of personal issue, to the detriment of himself and his assistants.
UPDATE: The Hollywood Reporter adds that Ryan Phillippe is in negotiations to star in the feature, with Val Kilmer in negotiations to also join the Paramount and Relativity Media production.
In the film, the legendary, much decorated MacGruber is pulled out of retirement as a monk in Ecuador by a colonel, who needs him once more to fight on behalf of his country. This time the mission involves going up against the evil Cunth, who has a nuclear warhead; the mission is personal because Cunth killed MacGruber’s bride.
The movie version would see Phillippe playing Piper, an Army officer forced to pair up with a reluctant MacGruber. Kilmer would be Cunth.
