Jason Bateman isn’t hopeful that an “Arrested Development” sequel movie will ever happen, but he revealed Thursday more of the proposed cast for Mitchell Hurwitz’s spinoff anyway, saying that none other than Dr. Phil McGraw was slated to play George Sr., the role originated by Emmy winner Jeffrey Tambor.
“Will Ferrell, I think, was talking to Arnett about playing Job,” Bateman said. “Jonah Hill was maybe going to do Michael Cera’s part because I think they were hanging out from ‘Superbad.’ It was cruising.”
The reveal came on Thursday’s episode of “Hot Ones” while promoting his new Netflix series “Black Rabbit.” In February, he revealed that Matt Damon had pitched himself to play a version of Michael Bluth, the character Bateman originated in 2003.
The premise of the movie, Bateman explained, was that Hollywood producers were making a movie about the central Bluth family, so McGraw, Ferrell, Damon and others would play the actors cast to play members of the Bluth family in the movie-within-a-movie.
“We certainly couldn’t play ourselves, because we’re not actors,” Bateman said on Conan O’Brien’s podcast earlier this year, adding that the premise would have Bateman on Michael “on set, watching Matt Damon play Michael Bluth and be so excited.”
“Of course, David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well, because he was an actor,” Bateman said of the character.
“Arrested Development,” the beloved comedy created by Hurwitz, followed the level-headed son Michael Bluth (Bateman) as his unhinged, elitist family grapples with their patriarch, George Sr.’s, imprisonment. The series ran from 2003 to 2006 on Fox before Netflix revived it for two additional seasons in 2013 and 2019.
Watch the “Black Rabbit” star’s “Hot Ones” exchange below:
