Charles Grodin turns down new Muppets movie, but may return to acting for Midnight Run sequel

Charles Grodin has been mostly absent from movie screens since the mid-’90s, with only a small role in 2006’s Zach Braff-starring The Ex to his credit in the 21st century, but according to Deadline, he may soon be staging a comeback—and it might be to reprise his role in a sequel to 1988’s Midnight Run.

When the sequel to the action-comedy was originally conceived, the plan was solely to bring back Robert De Niro’s bounty hunter character, who would then go through the same friendship-under-fire with the son of Grodin’s original character, a former mob accountant. But according to the producers, the plan now is to bring back both De Niro and Grodin, and—surprisingly—Grodin has actually said he will consider it

If he did, it would be quite a comeback for Grodin, who basically walked away from acting entirely to concentrate on raising his son Nick (who’s now an actor himself), and to become a TV and talk radio pundit, which led to his current role as a volunteer advocate for first-time offenders against unfair prison sentences. And although Grodin says he’s ostensibly ready to act again, he’s only willing to take jobs that will let him return to his Connecticut home in the evenings—which obviously severely limits his options. It’s for that reason that Grodin recently turned down an offer to revisit his turn in The Great Muppet Caper with an appearance in Jason Segel’s new Muppets movie, and it probably made for a great excuse when he rejected offers from Brett Ratner and Adam Sandler.

The script for the new Midnight Run is still being written, with Grodin’s decision clearly weighing heavily on what path it’ll take. Should Grodin agree, he’ll not only be reunited with De Niro but also original director Martin Brest, who would be staging a comeback of his own in the still-churning wake of 2003’s Gigli. And hey, if they manage to get Charles Grodin on screen again, could somebody please start working on Rick Moranis?