During his time on SNL and beyond, Will Forte evolved his MacGruber character from a one-note MacGyver parody into a spinoff machine that somehow hasn't ever overstayed its welcome. The true test is coming via the in-development TV adaptation for NBCUniversal's Peacock streaming service, and the producers just boosted the new series' credibility by casting a stellar trio of actors, with MCU and Sin City vet Mickey Rourke tapped to play MacGruber's new arch nemesis.
Let's break down each of these MacGruber casting additions and see what fans can expect from the new stars joining the previously revealed Will Forte, Kristen Wiig and Ryan Phillippe.
Mickey Rourke - Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth
One of 2020's strangest TV moments involved Mickey Rourke's voluntary Masked Singer unmasking, and I can almost already guarantee that he'll be at the center of more baffling small screen moments on MacGruber. In the action comedy romp, Rourke will take on the role of Enos Queeth, one of MacGruber's most notorious enemies. Though Queeth was long believed to be dead, he reemerged in the world with a deadly plot to bring the Earth to its knees, all while declaring revenge on MacGruber himself.
The foibles of Iron Man 2 aside, Mickey Rourke has long proven himself to be an intimidating presence on screen, and he's usually best either when playing things completely straight, as it went with The Wrestler, or when he's in full self-aware mode, as it went with The Expendables. Can't wait to see what kind of madness he brings to the role of Enos Queeth.
Sam Elliott - Perry
Having cemented his streaming TV star power on Netflix's Grace and Frankie and The Ranch, the legendary Sam Elliott is heading to a far zanier comedy by taking on a fatherly role in MacGruber. That's right, Will Forte's bumbling hero was somehow sired by Elliott's character Perry. Though the two characters are no longer as close as they once were, Perry is a guiding beacon in MacGruber's life, and it sounds like he'll serve as a pillar of inspirational advice as his son attempts to save the world. No pressure, no pressure.
I love the idea of giving the manic MacGruber a classic westernly parental figure in Sam Elliott. His Southern drawl is instantly recognizable, from truck commercials to The Big Lebowski to Family Guy, so I'm guessing everyone will be hanging onto every word he says in the TV show.
Laurence Fishburne - General Barrett Fasoose
This excellent casting update is rounded out by the addition of black-ish star Laurence Fishburne, who will bring his comedy-friendly professional demeanor to MacGruber in a big way. Not only is Fishburne's Barrett Fasoose a highly decorated general who has earned the respect of the entire U.S. military, but he's also the current husband of MacGruber's ex-wife Vicki St. Elmo, as played by Kristen Wiig. Expect some ludicrous sparks to fly between Fasoose and MacGruber over just about everything.
Laurence Fishburne has played the upper-patriarch on the ABC comedy black-ish for seven seasons now, and with Season 8 having already been announced as the show's final one, it's awesome that the actor has already landed a follow-up comedy to dive into in the meantime. (We're also still pumped to hear him in the upcoming Marvel series Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.)
The eight-episode initial season of MacGruber will debut on Peacock at some point later in 2021 or in early 2022, depending on how complicated the filming gets. While waiting to hear more updates, be sure to keep up with everything coming to TV soon with our 2021 Summer TV schedule.
