Disney Announces Mel Brooks' 'History Of The World, Part II' As Variety Series For Hulu

Forty years after Mel Brooks premiered his comedy film “History of the World, Part I” in theaters, Walt Disney Co DIS-operated Hulu streaming service has ordered a sequel in the form of an eight-episode variety series.

What Happened: Variety is reporting “History of the World, Part II” will have Brooks as executive producer and as part of a writing team including Nick Kroll, Wanda Sykes, Ike Barinholtz, David Stassen and Kevin Salter.

Production is scheduled to begin in Spring 2022 under the auspices of Disney divisions Searchlight Television and 20th Television.

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Why It Matters: “History of the World: Part I” offered a screwball consideration of different periods in world history, with Brooks playing five different roles. The film ended with a faux trailer for a sequel that promised sequences including “Hitler on Ice” and “Jews in Space,” but Brooks never considering continuing this vehicle until now.

“I can’t wait to once more tell the real truth about all the phony-baloney stories the world has been conned into believing are History!” Brooks said in a statement.

"History of the World, Part I" opened to mostly negative reviews and had the bad timing of coming into theaters on the same weekend in 1981 as "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Clash of the Titans," but it nonetheless generated a profitable box office return. Over time, the film has gained a cult following for its ribald sense of comedy.

The new series will be the first streaming endeavor for the 95-year-old Brooks, whose career began as a comedy writer for the classic 1950s variety program “Your Show of Shows” and spanned into films, recording and theater and resulted in his being among the few creative artists to score the EGOT quadruple honors of Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards.

Brooks’ last series work to date was “Spaceballs: The Animated Series” from 2008-2009.

Photo: Pamela Stephenson and Mel Brooks in "History of the World, Part 1," courtesy of the Quad Cinema.