'Dodgeball' Sequel in the Works

[Akijama]

Fox and Red Hour are up for another round of dodgeball.

The studio and the production company run by Ben Stiller and Stuart Cornfeld have tapped Clay Tarver to pen a script for a long-talked about sequel to the hit comedy, Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story.

The 2004 movie starred Vince Vaughn as the slacker owner of rundown gym who gathers a group of misfits into a dodgeball tournament in order to defeat an encroaching corporate gym run by Stiller.

The movie grossed more than $114 million domestically on a reported budget of $20 million.

While Fox, Vaughn and Stiller have long mulled the idea of a sequel, little action had been taken. It was even a joke on an episode of Ricky Gervais’ Extras in which Stiller guest-starred.

Now the sequel will focus on Vaughn and Stiller forced to team up to fight an even bigger threat, according to sources.

Tarver co-wrote with J.J. Abrams the 2001 thriller Joy Ride but has spent much of his time in the comedy world and has a familiarity with niche, subculture activities.

He is currently working on Quantum Hoops, which centers on a nerdy basketball team at Caltech, set up Disney and also being produced by Red Hour. He wrote Men Making Music, about the world of competitive barbershop quartets, also set up at Disney and being produced by Abrams. And he worked with Mike Judge on Meat in the Freezer, a satire about hunting for HBO Films.

Tarver is repped by WME and Wetdog Entertainment.

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