Baseball comedy, originally released in 1993, has become a fan favorite.
Let’s play two! « The Sandlot, » 1993’s coming-of-age classic about a group of baseball-loving kids growing up in 1962 small-town America, is getting a prequel, according to Variety.
Plot details are being kept under wraps for now. (« You’re killin’ me, Smalls! ») But Twentieth Century Fox is reportedly early in development on the project, which will be scripted by David Mickey Evans — who wrote and directed the original — with Austin Reynolds.
The news comes four months after the 25 th anniversary of the original « Sandlot, » which was a modest box office success before finding new life — and the enduring affection of viewers — on home video.
Two direct-to-DVD sequels were released, in 2005 and 2007. Neither, however, came close to matching the success of the original, which starred Tom Guiry as Scott Smalls, a new kid in town who seeks friendship among members of a local sandlot baseball team. Among them: speedster Benny « The Jet » Rodriguez (played by Mike Vitar), wisecracking catcher Hamilton « Ham » Porter (Patrick Renna), the lovestruck Michael « Squints » Palledorous (Chauncey Leopardi) and Alan « Yeah-Yeah » McClennan (Marty York).
The film also featured an appearance by James Earl Jones as junkyard owner Mr. Mertle, whose sandlot-adjacent backyard is a black hole of lost balls guarded by fearsome English mastiff known as « The Beast. »
When Scotty’s loses his stepfather’s prized souvenir baseball — signed by Babe Ruth — in Mr. Mertle’s backyard, he enlists his new friends and teammates to help him figure out how to retrieve it.
There’s no word on when the planned « Sandlot » prequel will be released.
