The Sandlot is all about nostalgia, that yearning for the carefree days of childhood where life’s biggest concern was whether to play baseball or go swimming. Earlier this year, there was an outpouring of love for the 1993 film as fans basked in their own memories of seeing the movie on its 25th anniversary. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that with 20th Century Fox developing another film in the franchise, they aren’t looking ahead, but instead further back. Word has it there’s a prequel that might build upon the legend of the Beast.
Deadline reports that Fox has begun development on a prequel that will see the original movie’s writer and director David Mickey Evans co-write with Austin Reynolds. At such an early stage in the process little is known about the story, but Deadline says it might explore more of the story of the neighborhood’s infamous baseball-eating monster dog, the Beast.
As for when the movie could be set, since the original Sandlot was set in 1962, Fox will likely have to go back far enough into the ’50s that none of the kid characters from the original have to be recast, meaning we could get an all new baseball team. (James Earl Jones doesn’t age, so he could return without issue.) But if Fox decides to find all new actors to play Benny, Ham, Squints, and the rest of the squad, we wouldn’t be surprised to see the film end where the first one begins—with Smalls becoming the nine hitter. Either way, we know one thing that will be on deck with this prequel: more nostalgia.
What do you think of this idea? Will it be a homerun or will it strikeout with fans? Tell us why in the comments below.
Images: 20th Century Fox
