Lionsgate has released the long-awaited trailer for The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee. In the meta-comedy, Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee) plays a heightened version of himself, along with some of his good friends. Hogan is reluctantly thrust back into the spotlight as he desperately attempts to restore his sullied reputation on the eve of being knighted in the comedy that also stars John Cleese (Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Chevy Chase (Caddy Shack), Olivia Newton-John (Grease), and Jacob Elordi as Hogan’s son (Euphoria). The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee is set to premiere on Digital and On Demand December 11th from Lionsgate.
Retired in L.A. and overshadowed by his Crocodile Dundee character, Hogan is offered a knighthood by the Queen of England in The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee. But before he can accept it, Hogan gets caught up in a series of comical scandals that dominate gossip shows and social media feeds. Can he keep his reputation clean long enough to hang onto his prize – and his dignity? In the trailer, Hogan is clearly having fun with his persona and people’s perception of him over the years, much like what Nicolas Cage is doing with The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and what John Malkovich did in Being John Malkovich.
The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee trailer finds Paul Hogan getting pitched for a Crocodile Dundee reboot by some studio executives. They pitch him on the idea of Will Smith playing his son in the movie, which Hogan seems to think is a bit absurd. It seems the actor believes a lot of things in his current retired life are absurd, as fans misquote Crocodile Dundee to him and expect him to be the fictional character in real-life. Back in 2018, Hogan said, “Crocodile Dundee is a film that has stood the test of time. It was a defining moment in my life and one of my proudest accomplishments,” though many are still wondering about that real-life sequel and if it will ever happen.
Paul Hogan originally teased a big Crocodile Dundee comeback during some viral Super Bowl commercials from 2018. However, the project was not promoted as a big game commercial when the teasers first aired. Danny McBride was cast as Dundee’s son, Brian, and the world really thought that Hogan was going to return, along with The Suicide Squad actress Margot Robbie and Avengers: Endgame star Chris Hemsworth. In the end, it was all for tourism to Australia, and it left a lot of people wanting to see more of Hogan.
In addition to Paul Hogan, John Cleese, Olivia Newton-John, and Jacob Elordi, The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee also features Rachael Carpani, Charlotte Stent, Reginald VelJohnson, Wayne Knight, Kerry Armstrong, Jim Jeffries, and Luke Hemsworth. Dean Murphy directed the movie from a script he co-wrote with Robert Mond. You can check out the first trailer for The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee above, thanks to the Lionsgate Movies YouTube channel.
