It’s been an interesting time for the television and film industries to revive different properties. After all, recognizable IPs seem to sell the most these days. One show that hasn’t been brought back, however, is the stop-motion parody series Celebrity Deathmatch that once aired on MTV. Now the show’s creator is eager to bring the series back to the small screen.
Eric Fogel, who originally created the series after pitching it nearly 30 years ago, believes that it would work even better in today’s world. When one considers the existence of social media and the vast array of celebrities to choose from today, it’s not exactly a bad idea, and one that Fogel believes could work better today than during the show’s original run.
The series, which stems from Fogel’s love of stop-motion animation, professional wrestling, and the overall concept of making fun of celebrities, ran from 1998 to 2007 with a number of iterations including the original two television pilots. While speaking with People, Fogel opened up about the potential for different matchups you could have today:
“That’s the beauty of the show — it’s timeless. These matches are iconic. You could literally open Google and type a few words, and you’ll get a whole bunch of new Celebrity Deathmatch ideas. It’s an evergreen concept,” he shared.
“I was just browsing this morning. Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel hate each other. You know, Will Smith and Chris Rock probably still hate each other? Taylor Swift and Kanye West is still a match I’d like to visit in the ring,” he added.
“It feels like there are still some unresolved issues there. It’s such a fertile, fertile environment. I feel like you could bring it back tomorrow, and people would tune into it.”
Additionally, he comments on the addition of social media, noting that he “would love the opportunity to just see what would happen.”
“To me, that would be even more entertaining, to have that interaction where now, celebrities are so vocal and you can get that sort of real-time reaction,” he said. “I think that would make it even more exciting.”
“Politically? We don’t even have to go there, but you know… Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg would be a very fertile environment for a celebrity deathmatch. And then, you know, just pivoting back to the social media angle, you know, MrBeast and Logan Paul would be insane, right? You have a whole new sort of stomping grounds that you could play in, and it’s just unlimited.”
Laughing, he added, “Let’s do it. Let’s make it.”
Obviously nothing is officially in the works, but he seems open to the possibilities and the amount of potential for a modern Celebrity Deathmatch is undeniable. As such, we’ll have to see whether or not a revival someday gets off the ground. For now, fans can check out the original Celebrity Deathmatch show on the Paramount streaming service Paramount Plus.