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Jonah Hill’s rise to stardom in Hollywood was a coming-of-age comedy that still rules as one of the best comedy films of the 2000s,Superbad.
The film saw three teenagers, played by Hill, Michael Cera, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse, making plans to party and lose their virginity before their high school graduation. Interestingly, Hill found his debutant co-star Mintz-Plasse annoying to film with.
Writers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg based the characters of Hill and Cera on themselves during their senior year, hence the characters were named Seth and Evan. Rogen and Goldberg started developing the script in 2000 and it took seven years for them to see their vision on the screen.
Jonah Hill absolutely hated filming with Christopher Mintz-Plasse inSuperbad
Christopher Mintz-Plassemade his debut inSuperbadand went on to cement his position in comedy with roles inRole Modelsand theKick-Assfilms. He also voiced Fishlegs Ingerman in theHow to Train Your Dragonfranchise and King Gistle Jr. in theTrollsfranchise. While Mintz-Plasse turned heads with his audition forSuperbad, co-starJonah Hillwasn’t too happy.
During an interview withVanity Fairconducted as part of the 15th anniversary of the film, writersSeth RogenandEvan Goldbergrecalled Hill’s reaction to Mintz-Plasse’s casting. Apparently, theKick-Assactor was a tad bit too confident during his auditions, which impressed the writers and producerJudd Apatowbut upset Hill.
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Rogen shared that Hill immediately hated Mintz-Plasse and told them that the debut actor was“f**king”with his rhythm. The writer shared with Vanity Fair,“Jonah immediately hated him. He was like, ‘That was fucking with my rhythm. I couldn’t perform with that guy.'”Apatow too rememberedHill asking them not to cast Mintz-Plasse.
However, Apatow felt that it was the exact dynamic they wanted between these two characters. He shared,“And I said [to Hill], ‘That’s exactly why we’re hiring him. It couldn’t be more perfect. The fact that it bothers you is exactly what we want.'”Mintz-Plasse’s actions were too much for Hill and Apatow had some insight into it.
He shared that the new actor was“very caustic”and his improvs attacked and insulted Hill. This happened during the third callback audition of the actor. Apatow recalled that Mintz-Plasse was“super stoked”to even audition for a feature film. Mintz-Plasse shared with Vanity Fair about his audition,“I had Seth and everyone sign my script because I didn’t think I was going to get the part.”
Greg Mottola, the director of the film, also recalled Mintz-Plasse’s ‘confident’ audition, where he acted like he was the coolest guy in the room and that everyone else was a loser. Mottola had the perfect analogy for the situation,“He was Dean Martin instead of Jerry Lewis,”referring to the iconic comedy duo.
Jonah Hill almost didn’t get cast as Seth inSuperbad
Jonah Hill also admitted to the fact that there were some initial issues between him and Christopher Mintz-Plasse. However, Hill was able to look past that initial annoying behavior from Mintz-Plasse. He shared that Mintz-Plasse was really amazing in his debut role. He shared with Vanity Fair,“Chris was really, really amazing off the bat. And I think he was really annoying to me at that time.”
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According to a feature in theOrlando Sentinel, Seth Rogen was initially slated to play the character of Seth in the film. However, he was deemed too old for the role and instead played one of the police officers in the film. The age of the character was also an issue when Hill was being considered for the role.
Director Greg Mottola shared that filmmakers were initially skeptical about casting Hill in the role since he looked too old for the part. Mottola shared that while Hill was a great actor, he felt that people closer to the age of the characters should be cast in the role. Hill was in his early 20s at the time. Mottola shared with Vanity Fair:
I got it in my head that we had to be careful to cast people who felt young. I was like, ‘Let’s just read people who are closer to the actual age,’ because Jonah was in his early 20s.
However, Hill refused to back down. Evan Goldberg remembered that Hill argued that he should play the character. He shared,“Jonah was like, ‘I should play Seth. I should play Seth. I should play Seth.’ And we said no like, 100 times.'”Hill even tried to convince the filmmakers that he could nail the character with some hair and makeup.
Judd Apatow recalled that the makers eventually decided to give him a chance. All Hill had to do was to“go shave really well and put yourself on tape reading these two scenes.”Apatow shared that it would’ve been a huge mistake if they considered anyone other than Hill for the role. Apatow shared,“He should’ve been cast a long time ago.”
The chemistry between the three main leads worked, maybe even more than what the filmmakers hoped to achieve. The film received positive reviews, with particular praise for the performances and Rogen and Goldberg’s writing. It grossed a total of $170 million against an approx. $20 million budget (via Box Office Mojo).
Why did aSuperbadsequel never happen?
WhileSuperbadwas super successful both critically and commercially, a sequel never took off for the film. Judd Apatow shared in 2015 during an interview with CinemaBlend that he would like to revisit the film, with Seth, Evan, and Fogell in college. However, he shared that others didn’t share the same enthusiasm as he did. Speaking toCinemaBlend, here’s what he said.
The actors – no one with Superbad – thought we should do another Superbad. But I wanted to do Superbad in college desperately, but no one would listen to me.
He once again reiterated the idea in a 2022 appearance on Michael Rosenbaum’sInside of Youpodcast. He even shared his concept of a sequel to Rosenbaum:
I always wanted them to do a sequel to Superbad. I know that Jonah [Hill] said, ‘Oh it’ll be funny to do it when we’re 70 or 80,’ but I really wanted them to do a ‘Superbad’ in college where Jonah flunks out of college and just shows up and visits Michael Cera at college.
However, no one—especially Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg—didn’t want to do a sequel. WhileSuperbadhad the potential to kick off a franchise like theAmerican Piefilms, the writers had genuine concerns. Rogen explained toLADbiblein 2020 that he didn’t want to ruin the great film with a bad sequel. He shared:
I’m so terrified of subtracting from it in any way with a bad sequel or spin-off that I’d never do it. I have so few actual good accomplishments that I’m horrified to f**k with the ones I have.
Rogen and Goldberg still haveno desire to pursue that sequel, almost 17 years later. In an interview withComplex, they shared that they would revisit something likeSausage Partybut would never touch on films likeSuperbadandPineapple Express. They shared,“We will keep those safe and sound. There are a few things that are best left untouched.”
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However, Apatow doesn’t agree. He feels that it’s like saying don’t make the second episode ofThe Sopranos. He didn’t understand why people would think that they would screw up a sequel.
Superbadis now available for streaming on Netflix.
Hashim Asraff
Senior Writer
Articles Published :3018
Hashim Asraff is a Senior Entertainment Writer at FandomWire, with over 2,800 articles published on celebrity culture, comic book movies, and major TV franchises. With a background in Sociology and a keen interest in pop culture, Hashim brings a unique lens to breaking news stories, character deep-dives, film rankings, and fan-driven perspectives.His coverage often includes the MCU, DCU, hit network shows, and celebrity profiles, giving readers a rich blend of entertainment and analysis. A longtime fan of crime and investigative series, Hashim has watched thousands of episodes of NCIS, Criminal Minds, Law & Order: SVU, Bones, Blue Bloods, and The RookieA passionate storyteller and wordsmith, Hashim has also worked as a ghostwriter and managed multiple social media handles. He brought his writing expertise to FandomWire to also pursue his lifelong love for cinema and television.
