Will Ferrell to Give eSports the 'Talladega Nights' Treatment in New Comedy

Will Ferrell has signed on to play an old-ass gamer in an untitled eSports comedy from Legendary Pictures.

December 6, 2016

Not Available Lead — Image via Complex Original

Will Ferrell accurately captured NASCAR's spirit of ridiculousness in his 2006 comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, joining frequent collaborator Adam McKay and John C. Reilly to mock the hell out of auto racing. Satire is dope. Now imagine that same movie, if you will, but with eSports instead of really fast automobiles.

That's the vibe we're getting from Deadline's announcement Tuesday that Ferrell had signed on for a comedy about eSports, the increasingly popular and hella competitive gaming style that often leads to very cool accomplishments such as teenagers winning millions of dollars. Ferrell will play a member of a pro-level eSports team, which is a superb setup given that many gamers often walk away from the eSports life in their 20s thanks to age screwing with one's hand-eye coordination.

The script for the untitled Gary Sanchez Productions x Legendary Pictures collaboration is being penned by Funny or Die's Michael Kvamme and SpongeBob SquarePants 3 co-writer Jordan Dunn. Fnatic and Evil Geniuses, two top-tier eSports team, are said to be in talks to make some sort of an appearance. Though the film still needs a director, McKay will probably be too busy with his Dick Cheney movie.

Ferrell is currently shooting writer-director Etan Cohen's Holmes and Watson, a playful reimagining of the classic Arthur Conan Doyle characters Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson. Perhaps just to mess with our heads about all these Talladega Nights comparisons, Ferrell's Holmes and Watson co-star is none other than aforementioned god of screens both big and small, John C. Reilly.