Kelsey Grammer Eyes Down Periscope Sequel Regardless of Authentic’s Poor Reception

Kelsey Grammer has a wide range of roles in his previous he might revisit, however one close to the highest of his record is a possible Down Periscope sequel. The six-time Emmy winner led the forged of the 1996 army comedy as Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge who, discovering his profession beneath risk and desires of being the captain of a submarine in danger, is tasked with restoring a rusty World Battle II-era submarine for a conflict recreation with a ragtag crew.

With an ensemble forged that additionally contains future NCIS alum Lauren Holly, two-time Oscar nominee Bruce Dern, Oscar nominee William H. Macy and comic Rob Schneider, amongst many others, Down Periscope didn’t make any main splash upon its March 1996 launch. Critics have been fairly sharp of their opinions, awarding it a dismal 11% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes, whereas a tepid response from audiences noticed it solely usher in $37.5 million towards its $31 million manufacturing finances.

Nevertheless, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan for his new movie Turbulence, Grammer shared he was able to set sail as soon as once more for a Down Periscope sequel. When requested about roles he’d prefer to revisit, the Emmy winner first pointed to that of Tom Kane from Starz’s Boss, although shared that “there are too many legacy producers to have it make monetary sense“:

I’m not actually positive, however I would like to revisit him. He was wonderful, and to provide him his departure can be nice. Some issues received humorous with the manufacturing of that present, and we simply by no means concluded it. And it will’ve been the proper factor for the character and for the piece.

Grammer then went on to quote Down Periscope as “the opposite one I would love to do” once more. Acknowledging that his character of Tom Dodge is “not precisely Maverick” and “not precisely Tom Cruise,” the star expressed that he is “a man who likes being beneath the floor” and, with the fashionable world nonetheless being afraid of nuclear assault, “he is aware of what to do.” Grammer even teased, “I’ve an concept about” how what a sequel would seem like, which he feels “could be actually enjoyable.”

The comparability of Down Periscope‘s Tom Dodge to High Gun‘s Pete Maverick could also be correct for the department of army each movies deal with, however undoubtedly would not work in favor of Grammer’s hopes to make a sequel to the previous. For starters, the 1996 comedy barely made its finances again on the worldwide field workplace, a stark distinction to the 1986 motion favourite being the highest-grossing movie of its 12 months.

Even simply wanting on the stars themselves, High Gun memorably helped affirm Cruise’s rising film star standing after his Golden Globe-nominated breakout flip in Dangerous Enterprise. For Grammer, however, Down Periscope served as his first main movie amid his success with Cheers and Frasier on the small display screen, and can be certainly one of many films to be met with derision from critics.

Arguably the opposite main issue working towards Grammer’s hope for a Down Periscope sequel is it having been made by twentieth Century Fox. Within the wake of Disney shopping for out the studio, their output has notably shifted away from distributing as many comedies as they as soon as did, specializing in extra blockbuster and style fare, together with the revived Predator and Alien franchises, the continuing Avatar sequence and The First Omen, amongst others.

This is not to say they’ve totally stopped getting behind comedies, they usually’ve even had just a few hits since. The John Cena and Lil Rel Howery-starring Trip Buddies grew to become Hulu’s most-watched authentic movie in its opening weekend on the time, resulting in the greenlight of a sequel, whereas the Awkwafina and Sandra Oh-led Quiz Girl gained the Primetime Emmy Award for Excellent TV film. With the proper pitch, Grammer might discover a method to win twentieth Century Studios over on a streaming sequel to Down Periscope.

The opposite main issue that may work in Grammer’s favor for a Down Periscope sequel to come back to life are the a number of comedy legacy sequels that discovered success in 2025. From Freakier Friday using its nostalgia to a stable $153.2 million haul to Liam Neeson’s Bare Gun surviving over a decade of growth hell to turn into tied for the best-reviewed installment within the franchise, Grammer’s 1996 movie having simply sufficient of a cult following might show that, with a group trying to enhance on the unique with out dismissing it, a follow-up can be a sneaky hit.