Jerry Seinfeld, Mark Hamill, Neil Patrick Harris join up with 'Mystery Science Theater 3000'
MST3K creator Joel Hodgson announces a celebrity-packed cameo list that includes Seinfeld, Hamill, Harris, Jack Black, Bill Hader and Joel McHale for the new series.
Bad movies only get better with expert heckling. "Mystery Science Theater 3000," aka MST3K, riffs on truly horrible films with the help of a human and his robot buddies.
So it only makes sense that its fans have put their money where their laughs are and helped raise millions of dollars for a new season.
With this successful Kickstarter campaign almost completed, fans of the original MST3K will have a chance to watch new episodes with a new cast, new cameos and a new writing staff.
Since this is a continuation of the series and not a reboot, they also will have new characters who will be part of the same family of mad scientist characters from the original series. This means new cameos as well.
In the latest campaign update as of Thursday, creator Joel Hodgson announced an impressive lineup of celebrities that could end up appearing as cameos in the new series if it reaches its final funding goal of $5.5 million.
Actors and comedians Jack Black, Joel McHale, Bill Hader and Neil Patrick Harris have expressed an interest in being on the show. But even bigger names like Jerry Seinfeld and Mark Hamill are also being recruited for the new series.
While these cameos seem to be missing any women from the lineup, Hodgson said he would love to see some funny females on the new series too.
Mark Hamill will cameo in the next MST3K series. But will he channel Luke Skywalker or the Joker?
"If any female celebrities are reading this, and happen to be fans of MST3K, please let me know!" Hodgson wrote in his update. "And if your names happen to be Tina Fey, Lily Tomlin or Amy (Poehler and Schumer) -- a few of my current comedy heroes -- call me! We're bringing back MST3K and would love for you to do a cameo!"
I'll be crossing my fingers and hoping comedy legends like Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Lena Dunham, Margaret Cho, Kristen Schaal, Ellie Kemper, Jenny Slate, Mindy Kaling, Sarah Silverman, Melissa McCarthy, Chelsea Peretti, Megan Amram, and Laraine Newman also see Hodgson's invitation and show up as cameos on the new MST3K.
Hodgson also announced last week that actor and comedian Patton Oswalt will join the MST3K cast as the new evil henchman: TV's Son of TV's Frank.
Previously, Hodgson revealed that comedian Jonah Ray will be the next host. We also know that actor Felicia Day will take on the role of Dr. Forrester's daughter, Kinga Forrester, in the new MST3K. Comedians Hampton Yount and Baron Vaughn have also been recruited to provide the voices of Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo.
Fans also found out this week from Hodgson that the new MST3K writing team will include not only the cast, but also guest writers such as "Community" creator Dan Harmon and his "Rick & Morty" co-creator Justin Roiland. Others will include "The Muppet Show" writer Nell Scovell, "Ready Player One" author Ernie Cline, "The Name of the Wind" author Pat Rothfuss, musical comedy duo Paul and Storm, "Simpsons" writer Dana Gould, "The Book of Mormon" songwriter Robert Lopez and director of the next "Lego Movie" Rob Schrab.
The campaign has already blown past its first three goals of $2 million, $3.3 million and $4.4 million, which means Hodgson and his crew will film nine full-length episodes. If they raise over $5.5 million, they'll film a full season of 12 episodes. If the lineup of cast, cameos and writers works out, we're all in for a real treat.