Ben Stiller Says ‘Zoolander’ Sequel Still Active

At the Taormina Film Festival, both Ben Stiller and Melanie Griffith were being honored in the Sicilian town on Thursday.

Ben Stiller is best known for his comedies such as 2001’s Zoolander where he portrayed the clueless but good-natured fashion model Derek Zoolander. While a sequel for the film has been in talks for many years with no visible action, don’t lose hope quite yet.

Later that afternoon, both actors held separate master-class interviews for the festival. Stiller’s audience members were evident Zoolander fans and were very curious on whether Zoolander 2 is still likely to happen.

The comic actor assured fans that, while there are “no plans to start production any time soon,” his production company Red Hour Films is “actively” working on a rewrite of the script. “I can’t say that it’s actually a reality yet, but I hope some day it is,” said Stiller. “It’s been about 10 years now. It’s going to be old Derek Zoolander.”

Back in 1996, Stiller and SNL writer Drake Sather created short films about the infamous Derek Zoolander character for the VH1 Fashion Awards. It was so well received that the short films they developed quickly grew into a film.

“When we told the studio, they didn’t quite understand it. It was a very strange experience, because even when the movie came out, I don’t think people quite got it. It’s sort of grown over the years,” said the comedy star.

Watch the trailer for the really, really, ridiculously good looking 2001 movie below.