The iconic 1980s role Jeff Goldblum would only reprise if he could play his own grandson: “Who knows?”
Actors can often be wary about reprising roles from their early days, usually only agreeing to return for the money or the relevance, but Jeff Goldblum admitted he’d return to one of his most legendary roles, without hesitation, so long as he can play his own grandson.
It would be just like Goldblum to make a bizarre request like that, given his penchant for eccentricity and off-kilter characters, but in reality, his decision is much more logical than you might expect. Ian Malcolm can return in as many Jurassic Park movies as needed, but Seth Brundle? Not so much.
David Cronenberg’s classic 1986 sci-fi horror, The Fly, did get a sequel, although it’s best not to remind Josh Brolin of that, since he embarrassed himself at the audition. The story follows Eric Stoltz’s Martin Brundle, the daughter of Goldblum and Geena Davis’ Veronica Quaife, who is welcomed into the world as a larval sac, obviously.
Goldblum doesn’t want to mess with continuity, clearly, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely against the idea of revisiting The Fly. “I don’t think my character would be involved,” he explained, “because of course I got tragically mutated with the fly and then the machine, oh boy”.
However, he, of all people, seemed keen to find a way around that minor detail, speculating, “Maybe I show up as a grandchild of the original Seth Brundle, or Seth Brundle had a brother that emerges in some ways! Who knows?” It’s certainly a unique perspective on reprising a past role, especially given the fact its been 40 years since the film’s release.
Although the actor is a silver fox who doesn’t seem to have aged in any major way, it might prove difficult for him to pull off playing the grandchild of his character, given that he’s 70, and if we’re sticking to the timeline we’ve got, then Brundle’s grandchildren could only be in their 20s or 30s.
Don’t worry, Goldblum has an answer for that too: “David Cronenberg was a thrill to work with,” he said, “Boy, if he was involved, I’d like to work with him again, I’ll tell you that”. If any duo could pull off this kind of quirky and uncanny approach to a sequel, it’s sure to be Cronenberg and Goldblum.
Sadly, though, it seems unlikely Cronenberg will be revisiting the film. Despite the director insisting he doesn’t do sequels, the one he seemed willing to circle back on was The Fly. In 2011, he confirmed the rumours that he’d be up for a return, although he was clear that his wouldn’t be a direct sequel. In the end, however, the project never became more than a rumour.
Then, as of 2024, it was announced that independent filmmaker Nikyatu Jusu would be creating a film based in the same universe as Cronenberg’s creation. While it’s sad to think we’ll never get to see Goldblum play his own human-fly-hybrid grandson or brother, Jusu seems like a good choice for a return to that universe, given his catalogue of horror works focused on the Black female experience.
