The Mask Creator Wants a Female Comedian to Star in New Movie

Jim Carrey’s manic performance as the nebbish Stanley Ipkiss in 1994’s live-action cartoon, The Mask, made it the classic it is today. But the character’s creator, Mike Richardson, thinks a different sort of actor could take up the mantle for a forthcoming sequel or reboot.

Richardson explains in a recent Forbes interview:

I’d like to see a really good physical comedian [in the role]. I have one in mind, but I’m not going to say her name. We have to do a lot of convincing for this particular actor, but we’ll see … You never know what’s coming in the future. We have some ideas.

Richardson founded Dark Horse Comics in the mid-1980s, with The Mask and its tale of a nerd becoming a superhuman trickster being an early hit for the publisher. The Carrey-led film adaptation was a massive success, earning over $350 million and making its lead one of the most recognizable comedic actors of the time. An abysmal sequel followed in 2005, but a future installment would focus on the human element of the original once again, says Richardson to Forbes:

I’d like it to be another character film about a person dealing with absolute power. The whole theme of The Mask was we all say what we would do if we had absolute power, just like Stanley Ipkiss. When we get absolute power, we often resort to the most petty of endeavors and it’s overcoming our human nature and using the power for good. Stan Lee said, “With great power comes great responsibility.” But my thing is an older axiom, which is, “Absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Dark Horse also plans to release a series of new The Mask comic books in the near future that capture the darker spirit of the earlier stories.

Paste is taking bets now on who Richardson hopes to snag for the potential sequel. Our money’s on Saturday Night Live mainstay Kate McKinnon. Don’t pretend you can’t see it.