Ben Stiller has addressed some of the projects that he is considering afterSeverance. The Apple TV+ show, which stars Adam Scott, is a sci-fi thriller taking place in an office where employees' minds are split between their work and their personal lives. In addition to being one of the show’s executive producers, Emmy-winning actor Ben Stiller directed six of the nine episodes from season 1 and is set to helm five of the ten episodes in the upcomingSeveranceseason 2.
During a recent conversation withColliderthat took place while he was promotingEscape From Dannemora, Ben Stiller discussed ideas for his next directorial project. While he admitted that most of his time has been taken up withSeverance, he offered insight into what he’s looking to work on afterward. The first project he mentioned that he is eyeing isSlaying the Badger, which would bethe story of “Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France.”
The other project, which is further along, isa documentary about his parents that he has been working on for “almost four years.“Both of his parents are well-known industry figures, as his father is Emmy-nominated actor Jerry Stiller (Seinfeld,The King of Queens) and his mother is Tony nominee and four-time Emmy nominee Anne Meara (Homicide: Life on the Street,Archie Bunker’s Place). Read Stiller’s full quote about the future projects below:
I’ve got a couple of things that I’ve been wanting to do. One of them that I’ve been sort of nurturing and nursing along for a while is Slaying the Badger, which is about the 1986 Tour de France and Greg LeMond, the first American to win the Tour de France. That’s a story I really wanna tell, and that could be the next thing. But honestly, it’s been full-on working on Severance.
Then the other thing that I’ve been working on is this documentary about my parents. This is something I’ve been working on for the last almost four years, and I think we’re getting to the point now where I think I’m gonna finish it up in the first part of next year. That’s been taking up my time.
What This Means For Ben Stiller
More Directing Is In The Cards
As Stiller’s comments reveal,he intends to primarily continue directing afterSeverance. This is in keeping with his recent work. Although he has performed onscreen in projects including the 2021 quarantine heist thrillerLocked Downas well as the upcomingholiday movieNutcrackersand the Adam Sandler legacy sequelHappy Gilmore 2, his recent projects have predominantly seen him focusing on his roles as director and producer.
In addition toSeverance, recent projects produced by Ben Stiller include the TV showsIn the Dark,High Desert, andLe Flambeau, les aventuriers de Chupacabra.
Although the upcoming projects that he has teased feel completely different from his off-kilter work with theSeverancecast, this is also in keeping with his creative instincts.He has already set a precedent for exploring a variety of genresoutside of the comedies that he is best known for. This dates back to at least 2008, when he produced the brutal horror movieThe Ruins, which he immediately followed with the Oscar-nominated comedyTropic Thunder, which he co-wrote and produced in addition to starring as Tugg Speedman.
Our Take On Ben Stiller’s Next Project
He Could Be Too Busy For Either To Come Out Soon
Ultimately, it remains to be seen which of these potential Ben Stiller projects comes to fruition first. While it seems likely that he intends to complete his documentary soonest, because it is the closest to being done,his availability on other projects could potentially be stymiedifSeveranceis renewed for season 3, which is a distinct possibility if season 2 retains the critical and commercial success of season 1. Should that be the case, he may elect to continue directing the series and delay his other projects even further.
Cast
Severance is a psychological thriller series featuring Adam Scott as Mark Scout, an employee at Lumon Industries who undergoes a “severance” procedure to separate his work and personal memories. However, as work and life personas mysteriously begin to collide, it quickly becomes clear that not all is as it seems. Created by Dan Erickson and directed by Ben Stiller and Aoife McArdle.
