There’s a spy comedy in the works over at Disney called The B Team that’s starting to see some life. The film is reportedly about a James Bond-type secret agent who gets himself kidnapped, leaving his nerdy tech support and research team left with the responsibility of rescuing him. Hilarity will doubtless follow as the pudgy, dweeby types try to acclimate themselves to being out in the world doing stuff instead of sitting behind a computer screen, typing things and coloring missions with snarky commentary.
The new action regarding the film’s development is that Seth Rogen has been brought on as a producer, which means he’s likely also being looked at to star. This has been Rogen’s modus operandi of late. He’s had a producing hand in a lot of his recent films, including 50/50, The Green Hornet, and Pineapple Express. I guess he’s kind of like the Jay-Z of the comedy world.
Also, this role just seems like a really good fit for him. I think The Green Hornet proved to all of us that Rogen makes a much better snarky sidekick than he does a leading man, no matter how much he slims down or how famous he becomes. He’s always been funniest to me when he’s nervous, mumbly, and in over his head, and it sounds like The B Team will be ripe with opportunity for him to play that card. I guess this project is a clever way for the actor to play to his strengths, but still be top billed as the star. If this were six months ago I might follow this all up by just saying “winning” (no, I wouldn’t). [Variety]