Back in April, we learned that Judd Apatow‘s Knocked Up spinoff, which was at one time titled This Is Forty, would follow Paul Rudd and Leslie Mann‘s characters, the married couple Pete and Debbie, through “just a story from [their] current life.” With the announcement that Megan Fox has a confirmed role and rumors of Albert Brooks‘s casting, many wondered whether Seth Rogen‘s character would make a cameo. While it seems unlikely that Katherine Heigl, who publicly denounced the first film, would make an appearance, Rogen and Apatow have continued to work together, and it would be fun to catch up with his character and the baby.
For now, it looks like that’s not going to happen. In a recent interview with Movies.com, Rogen admitted to visiting the This Is Forty set, but denied being in it. Rogen says:
Yeah I’m not in it, but I went to visit the set and it looked hilarious. [Leaving my character out] was a good choice, honestly, because I think it would’ve confused people, but I’m really looking forward to seeing it. I thought the script was unbelievably funny.
For what it’s worth, I’m not sure I believe him. This could be an attempt by Rogen to keep his cameo a surprise for the audience.
That isn’t to say Rogen’s not busy. In the same interview, he confirmed he’ll be co-directing Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse starting this February. Based on an 8-minute short film Rogen co-wrote with Evan Goldberg, with whom he will direct the feature, Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse is a disaster/comedy that follows the men least likely to survive the apocalypse. Though the short focused on Rogen and Jay Baruchel (Knocked Up), Rogen says the feature will have a much larger cast of characters.
“It’s now much more than just Jay and Seth,” Rogen says. “There’s many other people vs. the apocalypse now. It’s gonna be crazy.”
Stay tuned for more Jay and Seth vs. The Apocalypse news, and you can expect to catch This Is Forty (if that’s the final title) in theaters next summer, possibly fall.
What can This Is Forty do to be better than Knocked Up?