The Cleveland Indians are in the World Series for the first time since 1997, hoping to clinch a championship title for the first time since 1948. Of course, they have to go through the season’s best team — ahem, the Chicago Cubs — who are also champing at the bit for their first title since, oh, 1908. Needless to say, the stakes are high and the excitement is palpable.
Which is why Charlie Sheen has emerged from the bullpen to talk baseball — or more specifically, his intense desire to see an R-rated sequel to 1989’s Major League. He feels, like any self-respecting fan of David Ward’s legendary comedy, that the 1994 PG-13 was a subpar offering and that it’s about time they bookend the would-be trilogy with a grand slam of a story.
The good news is that there’s already one written.
“David Ward wrote the script for Major League 3, which is as good as the first one,” Sheen tells The Hollywood Reporter in a very rare interview. “ML3 has as much heart, as much comedy as the original.” He says original stars Tom Berenger, Corbin Bernsen and Wesley Snipes are all on board and have been “sitting on” the script and “could be in pre-production tomorrow.”
Sheen, who played California Penal League all-star Ricky “Wild Thing” Vaughn, even offered some details on the story:
“You find the Vaughn character selling cars and his arm is so shot that if you buy a car from him, he’ll play catch with your kid in the parking lot. And then there is an ex who shows up, who he had a tryst with a couple decades ago, and she has a twentysomething kid, who is now in the Cleveland organization, throwing about 102 mph. So, the story pretty much focuses on that. The kid does not like me. We do not like each other. It bookends our story, but it also passes the torch.”
Last year, Morgan Creek, who owns the rights, teased a potential remake last year when CEO Jim Robinson tried selling their library “for economic reasons.” Sheen says he would love to work with Morgan Creek on a sequel, adding: “if they don’t want to do it, then I am sure there is a way that they could be involved and everybody wins.”
One more obstacle is Sheen’s health. Last November, he announced that he had contracted the HIV virus, though he says he feels “excellent” lately. “I am part of an FDA study right now,” he adds, “which I have been involved with for 24 weeks, and there is a new drug that is on the fast-track for FDA approval. “It’s called PRO 140… It’s a global game-changer.”
So, what do you think? Should they bring in Vaughn? Does Berenger have the knees to even play Jake Taylor off the field? Can Snipes still steal our hearts if he’s not stealing bases? Would anyone even recognize Bernsen? It’s a toss up, a shot to left field, but most would probably agree the moment’s long passed.
Then again, some of us still need this team. Now you listen to me! This is our last shot at a winning sequel and for some of the younger fans it could be their only shot. I don’t know what happened to Morgan Creek. But if they ever, ever tank another sequel like they did in ’94, I’m gonna… eh, you know the quote.
Editor’s Note: Apologies to the great Scott Bakula for us rightfully ignoring the existence of Major League: Back to the Minors. Sure, it starred Bernsen and even Dennis Haysbert, but it was juuuuust a bit outside.