Are we finally going to get the sequel promised 28 years ago in the end credits sequence of the classic Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man? Pauly sure hopes so. Over the past week, the iconic comedian and former MTV host has been campaigning on social media for Disney+ to finally pull the trigger and make Encino Man 2. According to Pauly Shore, his former cast mates Sean Astin and Brendan Fraser, whom he has remained tight friends with ever since shooting the original, are both ready and willing to return.
Encino Man arrived in 1992, and stands as an important comedy in many ways. It was the first movie to introduce Pauly Shore portraying his Weasel character, catapulting him to instant stardom. Though he was a breakout veejay on MTV and had already appeared in the long-lost cult classic Phantom of the Mall, along with attention grabbing appearances in hugely popular TV series Married…With Children and 21 Jump Street, Encino Man served as Pauly’s introduction as a comedic lead in what would segue into several hit comedy movies.
Encino Man would also be Brendan Fraser’s introduction to the world after appearing in a handful of TV movies. The comedy pushed him to instant stardom back in the 90s. It also allowed Sean Astin to move from being a child actor to an established adult actor, and serves as the precipice for his later career, propelling him into hit movies such as Rudy, The Lord of the Rings and the hit TV show Stranger Things.
Encino Man is fondly remembered by all three actors. And Pauly Shore has been hitting his social media hard, telling fans to demand that Disney+ continue what they started way back in 1992. Paul Shore said this in his first instagram post.
“Good o’l Encino Man, remember this classic? How many people want to see Encino Man 2?! Hit up Disney+ on social media and let them know Brendan, Sean, and myself are ready to go! Let’s do this 2021. Let’s Wiez the prune juice dooooooooodz.”
Pauly Shore didn’t stop there. He would go onto further support and push the idea that Encino Man 2 definitely needs to happen. Not as a theatrical release, but as a direct-to-streaming comedy made exclusively for Disney+. He goes onto say this.
“These are the kind of vibes we need right now!!! Encino Man 2. Come on @disneyplus, no one left behind! Let’s get the positivity flowin budzzz! Let’s spread that optimism brozzzz! Let’s Wiezz the f*!#cking juice bro. @seanastin.
Along with pushing out this Encino 2 message on his social medai platforms, the iconic comedian also spoke with Looper about making his sequel dreams come true. He had this to say about working on the movie.
“When I did Encino Man, the director of Encino Man years ago, Les Mayfield, he’d never directed a movie either. So sometimes you’d give people chances and it works.”
The original Encino Man ended with Brendan Fraser’s caveman girlfriend being unthawed, which opened up a pathway for a sequel. The scene with the reunited cave couple sharing a bath was immediately followed up with a quick end credits scene that had Pauly Shore as Stoney Brown promising he’d be back. Sadly, Stoney Brown has not been seen again.
Coming up on its 30th anniversary, Encino Man 2 won’t be a direct sequel. There was originally talk of a sequel that would see Stoney getting frozen and waking up in the far away future. It sounds like that idea has been abandoned for a story that would allow both Sean Astin and Brendan Fraser’s characters to return. While Stoney never got a follow up movie, Brendan Fraser did reprise his role as Caveman Link in Shore’s follow-up Son-in-Law and later played Link as a soldier in Shore’s In the Army Now.
Disney+ hasn’t commented on Pauly Shore’s call to create a sequel to probably his most iconic movie. Shore recently starred in The Guest House, which brought him back to leading man status after several years away from the big screen. He currently has his own podcast and several Youtube shows that are quite popular with fans.
Brendan Fraser currently stars on the hit HBO Max DC Comics superhero series Doom Patrol as Cliff Steele (aka Robotman} and he appears in Steven Soderbergh’s upcoming heist flick No Sudden Move and will be seen in the sci-fi romance Behind The Curtain of Night, both of which are currently in post-production and will likely get streaming debuts. Sean Astin most recently appeared in several episodes of The CW’s Supergirl. He also has several independent films in post-production. Encino Man 2 sounds like it could move forward with everyone ready and willing. Now it’s just up to Disney+.
