Pretty much everybody you knew and loved from the original Wet Hot American Summer and its Netflix prequel were there in the first trailer for Netflix’s sequel series Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later, but Bradley Cooper’s Ben—Amy Poehler’s theatrical partner and Michael Ian Black’s husband—was strangely absent. Considering how famous Cooper has become since the original movie came out, it was understandable that he’d eventually be too busy to screw around with the old Camp Firewood gang, but it was still a shame to see him missing from the trailer.
However, while Cooper won’t be in Ten Years Later, the character Ben will be. According to Entertainment Weekly, Adam Scott will be playing Ben, with his different appearance explained by “some minor cosmetic surgery.” Apparently, the character will be self-conscious about looking different, but co-creator/star Michael Showalter says the joke is that everyone else “recognizes him completely and says that you can barely notice it.”
Cooper reportedly thought the swap was funny, and it’s possible that any future Wet Hot installments could involve him again anyway. Also, Adam Scott played a character named Ben on Parks And Recreation, which also starred Amy Poehler, and the two of them reportedly had a “whoa, okay” moment while filming Wet Hot together.
Wet Hot American Summer: Ten Years Later premieres on Netflix on August 4.