Bruce Campbell has played supporting roles in so many films and TV shows, he once wrote a fictionalized autobiography — “Make Love! The Bruce Campbell Way” — about how his biggest possible break would be playing a sage-like doorman in a high-profile Hollywood drama starring Richard Gere and Renée Zellweger. In the fake Hollywood movie, Campbell would be the character to dole out advice to the lead characters and get their lives on track. It’s telling that Campbell, even in a fictional version of Hollywood, didn’t cast himself as the leading man.
Of course, Campbell has rarely been romantic about acting. He takes his craft seriously, but sees it more as a blue-collar profession than a heady art that requires years of study. Given that Campbell started his career getting splashed with fake blood in a series of zero-budget monster movies, this attitude is understandable. The ironic twist in “Make Love!” is that Campbell’s presence on a boring Hollywood production inspires the stars and director to start including more violence and monster action. In Campbell’s estimation, he can’t seem to escape his monster movie roots.
His “blue collar” attitude, of course, means that Campbell is constantly open to work, and would be happy to take any regular gig that would assure a steady paycheck. As such, when he spoke with Collider in July 2024, Campbell suggested he should be allowed to reprise his role as Coach Boomer in Mike Mitchell’s underrated 2005 superhero film “Sky High.” He felt the premise of “Sky High” was strong enough to carry a TV series, and that there was no reason it shouldn’t be on streaming already.
Sky High: The Series
“Sky High,” for those who don’t remember, was a teen-friendly superhero film about a high school for upcoming superbeings. Sky High was literally located in the clouds, and all its students were being trained to be the next generation of costumed vigilantes for the city below. Students are asked to demonstrate their superpowers on the first day of school, and Coach Boomer would ultimately decide if they’d make good heroes, should be earmarked as potential villains, or if they’d be better suited as sidekicks.
The main character is the awkward William Stronghold (Michael Angarano), the son of The Commander (Kurt Russell) and Jetstream (Kelly Preston), the two most famous superheroes on the planet. Will was granted a legacy admission into Sky High — something he’s embarrassed about since he has no superpowers, but hasn’t the heart to tell his parents that he’s just a regular teenager. “Sky High” also starred Lynda Carter as the titular school’s principal, Cloris Leachman as the school nurse (with X-ray vision), and Dave Foley as the capable but disrespected teacher of the sidekick class. Meanwhile, the film’s soundtrack features They Might Be Giants covering Devo’s “Through Being Cool.”
Campbell feels that “Sky High” could readily be adapted into an excellent streaming series, telling Collider:
“That needs to be a TV series on Peacock. […] That would be a good TV show because you’re following high school kids, only they’re superheroes. […] Because it’s Kurt Russell. I’d have to work with Kurt again for the third time. I work with his son, Wyatt, on ‘Lodge 49.’ I know all the Russells!”
Apart from “Sky High,” Campbell and Russell also appeared together in 1996’s “Escape from L.A.” wherein Campbell played the villainous Surgeon General of Beverly Hills.
Coach Boomer returns
Campbell says, however, that the circumstances would have to be just right to get him and Russell (Kurt or Wyatt) involved in a “Sky High” TV series. He said specifically that “the stars have to align,” but also that one should “never say never.”
“Sky High: The Series,” however, may be facing an uphill battle, just in terms of where superheroes are culturally. “Sky High” came out prior to the launch of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which was before interconnectivity became the central feature of the genre. “Sky High” was still able to play with superhero tropes, rather than merely accept them as holy writ. As such, a lightweight, low-stakes teen comedy about superheroes might feel out of place in a genre that, over the course of the last 15 years, has increasingly demanded ever-more-complicated interlocking super-mythologies.
Also, despite the financial success of a (figurative) masturbation party like “Deadpool & Wolverine,” one might still get the impression that superheroes are on the outs. It remains to be seen if the MCU can keep interest up, especially after releasing a string of critical and/or commercial misfires (“Deadpool & Wolverine” notwithstanding).
Of course, with the big studios constantly threatening to topple over, perhaps a lightweight, low-stakes, mid-budget film like “Sky High” would be the perfect antidote. “Sky High” is bright, friendly, and fun, which is more than can be said for the MCU. Should it happen, Campbell is standing by.
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