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SYFY WIRE MacGruber

MacGruber's Peacock revival adds action movie legends Mickey Rourke, Laurence Fishburne and Sam Elliott

By Matthew Jackson
MacGruber return teaser

It's been almost a year since we learned that MacGruber, the action-comedy sketch that parodied MacGyver on Saturday Night Live which then became an action-comedy film which parodied MacGyver on the big screen, would be returning to the small screen once again in the form of Peacock original series. Since then, we've been waiting to hear more about the unexpected but welcome return of America's favorite vest-wearing action hero, and now the streaming service has revealed that when MacGruber returns, he'll be doing it with several movie legends in his corner.

Peacock announced this week that Mickey Rourke (Iron Man 2), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix), and Sam Elliott (The Man Who Killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot) have all joined the cast of the upcoming original series, which stars Will Forte as the title character, an inventive and confident hero who nevertheless has a tendency to get the people around him killed. The announcement adds excitement to a series which already boasted the return of Forte (who will also write and executive producer) and his MacGruber movie co-stars Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe as Vicki Gloria St. Elmo and Dixon Piper, respectively.

Rourke will star as the eight-episode series' main villain, Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth. Described as "one of MacGruber's mortal enemies," Queeth was long thought to be dead, but now he's back with a plot to destroy the world. Only MacGruber, who's spent the last decade in prison, stands in his way.

Elliott will play MacGruber's somewhat distant father, Perry, who will offer his wisdom and guidance as MacGruber returns to action, while Fishburne will play General Barrett Fasoose, a decorated soldier who also happens to be the current husband of MacGruber's ex-wife, Vicki St. Elmo. Clearly, a lot's happened since the MacGruber movie back in 2010.

MacGruber will also feature the behind-the-camera return of John Solomon and Jorma Taccone, who will co-write the series and alongside Forte and also co-direct (Taccone, a member of The Lonely Island, directed the feature film).

MacGruber began its surprisingly long pop culture lifespan in 2007 as a popular Saturday Night Live sketch that featured Forte as the title character trying and failing to diffuse a bomb. Now, more than a decade after it seemingly peaked with the feature film version, it'll get a third life on Peacock. The series is expected to arrive later this year.