What is the future of Archer? Following the recent conclusion of the FX cartoon series’ seventh season, the answer to that question remains unclear, as the network has not yet renewed the series, despite a cliffhanger at the end of season 7. The series has successfully reinvented itself multiple times, pivoting from the spy-based shenanigans of the early seasons to a drug-dealing plot, and then back to spying and then to a private detective show – while also, for obvious reasons, dropping the spy agency name ISIS. Now, it appears that if Archer does return, it might pivot again – to live action.
Yes, some of the show’s producers are considering a live-action movie, in which their actor of choice to play protagonist Sterling Archer is Jon Hamm.
In an interview with The Daily Beast, executive producers Matt Thompson and Casey Willis say that the production team is trying to decide between making another season and pursuing a movie – but that it’s ultimately up to creator Adam Reed. According to Thompson:
When discussing who they would want to play Archer, Thompson said:
“It’s all up to whatever Adam [Reed] wants to do, but he and I have definitely talked about it. I think we talk about it once every two years. We vacillate between if you do it, why are you doing the TV show? And should it be live-action, or should it be cartoon? The talk is there, we just still haven’t decided. I don’t think there will be a movie before the last episode of Archer airs on TV. I don’t think we’ll make a movie before the series finishes.”
“It’s Jon Hamm. If Archer goes live-action, I do believe it will be Jon Hamm. Maybe you could do it with Jon Benjamin’s voice coming out of him? I don’t know.”
How serious the producers are about the live action movie, or the Hamm-as-Archer idea, remains unclear. Whether the style of the series would translate to live action, or the size of the difference in budget between cartoon action and live-action is feasible, are very much open questions. And part of what’s always made the show great is its cartoonish-ness- it’s hard to imagine, for instance, any of the jokes about Pam landing the same way with a live actress.
As for Jon Hamm? It’s hard to imagine more perfect casting of a cartoon character with a live actor, since Hamm looks much more like Sterling Archer than does the actor who voices him, H. Jon Benjamin. And Hamm has played the live-action version of a longtime cartoon before, when he appeared in a live-action version of The Ambiguously Gay Duo on a 2011 Saturday Night Live episode. More importantly, Hamm is a fantastic actor, as anyone who has seen Mad Men can attest, although his work has never quite translated into movie stardom. It may not be clear who should play the next James Bond, but it’s clear who should be the live-action Archer.
Screen Rant will have more details on Archer as they’re made available.
Source: The Daily Beast
