Terminator 3 star Arnold Schwarzenegger is in negotiations to assume the title role in Big Sir, a family comedy written by Bob Schooley and Mark McCorkle, the exec. producers of the hit animated series Disney’s Kim Possible. The part is one of several the brawny action star is considering while he weighs his options in Hollywood and in the political realm.
“An executive at New Line, Chris Godsick, is a big fan of Kim Possible so he wanted to meet us,” McCorkle tells Animation Magazine Online. “In that meeting he asked us if we had any ideas for a movie and we pitched this idea for Big Sir. He loved it. He and Mark Kaufman, another executive at New Line, said, “This is great! We want to make it and have you write the script.”
Asked if Big Sir was something they had in the works for a while, McCorkle quips, “No, I think we just sort of came up with it on the way to the meeting.”
According to Schooley, the lead role in Big Sir is tailor-made for Schwarzenegger. “The character is an action hero, and we’re taking him amd putting him with kids in a family situation,” he comments.
Sort of a cross between Kindergarten Cop and Commando, the script has a special forces operative dropping out of the war business to get married and become a stepfather. Along the way, he gets the opportunity to find out which is worse – a cross-country road trip with the kids or being pursued by all his old enemies.
“I think our background in animation definitely helps in terms of coming up with a story that’s full of big visual set pieces like the chase and the climax and all that,” says McCorkle.
Kim Possible is heading into its second season with a hefty order of 31 episodes. Also in the works is a three-part Kim adventure that is being cut together as a Disney Channel Movie. “It sort of involves time travel where we get to see Kim’s origin and get to explore the character’s past and a dark, dark future,” notes McCorkle.
The new season kicks off this Friday as part of a Disney Channel Kim Possible marathon weekend. To coincide with the launch, toys and various other merchandising is set to hit Wal-Mart shelves this month. Included is a new soundtrack featuring Schooley’s and McCorkle’s songwriting debut, “The Naked Mole Rat.” Then September sees the teenage superspy showing up in MacDonald’s Happy Meals. “It’s the summer of Kim,” says Schooley.