Since breaking into the comedy world as stand-up comic when he was just 13 years old, Seth Rogen has grown into one of the most successful, recognizable, and busiest talents in Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera. The 39-year-old Vancouver native who broke out in the Freaks and Geeks cast years before making his directorial debut (along with longtime writing and producing partner Evan Goldberg) with This Is the End in 2014, has continued to evolve as an artist as some of his more recent projects (like The Disaster Artist) and his forthcoming projects (such as Santa Inc.) show.
If you are curious to see where the surprisingly versatile celebrity’s career is taking him next, the following is a breakdown of all of the upcoming Seth Rogen movies and TV shows to keep an eye out for, starting with one title that sounds like it could become a new holiday tradition.
Santa Inc. (2021)
The last time Seth Rogen starred in and produced a Christmas movie was when he, his 50/50 co-star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Anthony Mackie from the Marvel movies indulged in debauchery on Christmas Eve while searching for New York’s best party in The Night Before, from 2015. The actor has new a project slated to come out just in time for the holiday season that, despite its imaginative themes and subject matter, will still not be very appropriate for children, apparently.
Created by Alexandra Rushfield, Santa Inc. is the story of a high-ranking female elf named Candy Smalls (voiced by Sarah Silverman), who sets out to capitalize on her dream of becoming the first female successor to Santa Claus after the already chosen replacement becomes intercepted by the North Pole’s greatest competitor: Amazon. According to Deadline, Silverman’s Take This Waltz co-star Seth Rogen will play Old Saint Nick himself as well as executive produce the animated series along with Silverman, Rushfield, Amy Zvi, and Rosa Tran of Anomalisa fame. The eight-episode TV series currently has no confirmed premiere date, but can be expected to likely drop on HBO Max sometime during around Christmas in 2021.
Invincible Season 2 (2022)
Seth Rogen has previously lent his voice to films like Kung Fu Panda as Mantis, 2019’s The Lion King remake as the new Pumba, and Frank in Sausage Party - another raunchy animated comedy he produced. Not to mention, Santa Inc. is actually the second animated series Seth Rogen is lending his voice to in 2021 - the first being Invincible, which has earned many comparisons to The Boys (another Amazon Prime original series that Rogen also produces) for its shocking violence.
The actor’s unmistakable voice appeared in the star-studded Invincible cast for a few episodes from Season 1 of the hit series (based on The Walking Dead creator Robert Kirkman’s own comic book series of the same), as a smaller character named Allen the Alien, whom he will be again when Season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime. No official premiere date has been announced yet for the recently confirmed second or third seasons.
The Fabelmans (2022)
Coincidentally, Seth Rogen once voiced another extra-terrestrial character - the title role of the 2011 sci-fi comedy, Paul, which also starred Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. The charmingly funny (albeit pretty raunchy) film was also the first time the actor worked with Steven Spielberg, who makes a vocal cameo as himself in a clever flashback sequence. Rogen will soon be able to say that the legendary, Oscar-winning filmmaker has also directed him in feature.
Steven Spielberg’s follow-up to his West Side Story remake will be The Fabelmans, which is a semi-autobiographical account of his own childhood he also co-wrote, in collaboration with Tony Kushner, who also wrote the screenplay for West Side Story, Munich, and Lincoln. According to Deadline, Seth Rogen joins the cast (also featuring Oscar nominees Michelle Williams and Paul Dano) as a character based on Spielberg’s “favorite uncle.” The film is expected to come to theaters in 2022 but without any specific release date in mind yet.
Untitled Mario Film (December 21, 2022)
There is another film starring Seth Rogen expected to come out in 2022 that does have a specific theatrical release date - Friday, December 21 - but still has no official title. In fact, the poster for Illumination Studios’ computer-animated adaptation of the Super Mario Bros. video games is, simply, the appropriate image of a Mystery Block under a list of cast members in front of a black background.
Leading that confirmed list of voice cast members is Chris Pratt as the titular Italian plumber - along with Charlie Day as his brother, Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. Seth Rogen will play Donkey Kong, whose own self-tilted game actually introduced Mario (when he was still called Jump Man) before he got his own game and, essentially, became Nintendo’s equivalent to Mickey Mouse. All I hope is that this “Untitled Mario Film” (directed by animated DC movie vets Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic) is more successful than 1993’s live-action Super Mario Bros., which is still considered to be one of the worst video game movies to this day.
Pam & Tommy (TBA)
Speaking of ‘90s nostalgia, Seth Rogen made headlines in May 2021 when an Instagram post saw him beardless and rocking a mullet for his role in Pam & Tommy, a Hulu original from Cruella director Craig Gillespie. The limited series will follow the bizarre, tabloid-baiting romance between Baywatch star Pamela Anderson and former Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee, who will be portrayed (in one of the most stunningly perfect casting choices I have ever seen) by Lily James and Marvel actor Sebastian Stan, respectively.
It is not much of a surprise that Seth Rogen is one of the upcoming TV show’s producers, as well as starring in it. He plays Rand Gauthier - a former porn actor turned electrician who famously stole the celebrity couple’s personal sex tape while installing a security system in their home. Former Orange is the New Black cast member Taylor Schilling also stars as Gauthier’s wife, Erica, along with Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation cast fame in the eight-episode miniseries, that has yet to announce an official premiere date.
Seth Rogen’s Upcoming Producing Credits
It is not much of a surprise, either, that Seth Rogen is producing a lot of other upcoming projects at the moment. For instance, he has the highly anticipated arrival of the The Boys Season 3 (potentially coming to Amazon Prime in early 2022) and its prequel spin-off, set at a college for superheroes run by Vought - that was put on the development fast-track in September 2020.
He also has other superhero-related content in the works, including a new animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and, according to Vulture, a reboot of the Darkwing Duck series for Disney+. In addition to revisiting his sweet-spot with a currently untitled comedy for Lionsgate with Crazy Rich Asians writer Adele Lim, Seth Rogen is also diving into horror movies with Cobweb (as THR reports) and, maybe, after he stars in “Untitled Mario Film,” Console Wars - his miniseries profiling the rivalry between Nintendo and SEGA - will see the light of the day.
It is interesting to think about how the same guy who became an unlikely leading man by having his face plastered on the poster for Knocked Up in 2007 would become one of the most powerful names in Hollywood. In fact, you could even say that Seth Rogen is helping change Hollywood and, I would say, for the better.
