Though Idiocracy was a bit too uneven to be the Office Space followup that fans of Mike Judge were hoping for, it was full of enough funny concepts that it’s gradually built up a cult following of its own, nonetheless. When Idiocracy first hit theaters, Fox gave it a paltry seven city release and almost no promotion, and seeing as this was well before the days of simultaneous theater and VOD distribution, the film initially came and went without too many people being aware of it at all. But six years of gradual growth in awareness due to word of mouth recommendations means that, these days, if one were to make casual reference to Idiocracy gags like “Ow My Balls!” or “Brawndo: The Thirst Mutilator,” chances are a couple people in the room are going to know what they’re talking about.
One of the most memorable parts of Judge’s bleak look at our increasing stupidity was the man who becomes the President in this future world, former porn star and professional wrestler Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho. It turns out that not only have comedy fans kept a place for Camacho in their hearts over this last half-decade, but so has the actor who portrayed him, Terry Crews.
In a recent interview with Movieline, Crews admitted that he’s been doing everything he can to get another chance to revisit his beefed-up and foul-mouthed politician. The football player turned actor said that, ever since Idiocracy’s release, he’s been badgering Mike Judge about giving Camacho a spin-off. And, believe it or not, it seems that his efforts have finally paid off.
According to Crews, “Me and Mike [Judge] are talking right now with Fox about some Camacho stuff. We literally met with Fox a week ago. It’s so cool.” Of course, the first question this quote brings to mind is what exactly “Camacho stuff” constitutes. Is Fox really going to consider going back to an already poisoned well and financing an Idiocracy spin-off? Not so fast. It turns out the deal on the table involves first making some shorts for the Internet. Or, as Crews puts it, “We’re going to see what it becomes, but we got approval from Fox to do some stuff. We’re going to start off on the internet and do some small interstitials with Camacho.”
If said interstitials go viral and prove that there’s a market for more Idiocracy-related material, is it feasible that Fox could then open up the purse strings and spring for something more substantial, like a prequel that covers Camacho’s road to the Presidency? “We’ll see,” says Crews, “We’ve just got to gauge the interest and Fox wants to start slow…you’ve got to let it take off.” It looks like if you want to see more Camacho on the big screen, you’re going to have to seek out and share these upcoming shorts. Just try not to spend too much time hitting the reload button on Youtube. Factor in some reading time, as well. Lord knows we’ve all gotten dumb enough already.