The stars seem to be aligning to move Charlie Sheen off our computer screens and back onto the big screen for a fourth installment of the screwball baseball comedy that is now a cult classic, 'Major League.'
Until last week we thought that Sheen's turn as Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn, the four-eyed bad boy pitcher in the first two movies in the series, was as good as he was going to get. His recent one-liners and continued ability to turn a phrase around "tiger blood," "duh" and "winning" proved us wrong. Sheen has gotten better with age; for better or worse.
The original 'Major League,' released in 1989, grossed just under $50 million at the box office, which is about $85 million today. "Major League 2," released in 1994, made $30 million at the domestic box office.
But none of that matters, since Charlie Sheen in 1989 and 1994 wasn't the one-man publicity team he is today. The actor's ability to set a world record by gaining more than a million Twitter followers in a single day proves there's an audience for all things Sheen.
And if there's concern about whether he will show up for work and cost a potential movie project money when and if he embarks on another bender, Charlie made an excellent point in several of last week's interviews. He may have missed a day of work on the set of "Two and a Half Men," but never a day that actually mattered.
Charlie told TMZ last month that he was ready and willing to star in a new installment of the series. A couple days later, David S. Ward, who directed and wrote the original, told The Hollywood Reporter that he had a script, in which Ricky "Wild Thing" Vaughn would mentor a young relief pitcher.
CNBC's sports business reporter Darren Rovell tweeted on Saturday that more than two-thirds of the fans he polled were itching for the "Wild Thing," to make a comeback.
Sheen has said he wants this film to be 'Major League 3,' despite the fact that it would actually be the fourth installment in the series. A Sheen-less, 'Major League 3: Back to the Minors,' was released in 1998. It's probably fair to discount that effort as we choose to discount 'Mean Girls 2,' 'The Next Karate Kid' and 'Teen Wolf Too' (Sorry Jason Bateman).
There are so many reasons this film needs to happen. Charlie Sheen needs it. With his 'Men' payday kaput, five kids to feed and a harem of women to keep in cars, negligees and peroxide, Sheen needs a new income stream.
America needs it. There has been a dearth of sports comedies over the past decade since they've been replaced by the more sensitive bromance. Let's bring back some vulgar, crotch-grabbing grandiosity.
The pieces are all in place for this masterpiece to actually happen. What it needs is continued fan support.
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