Ready to Spend Another Night at the Museum?

By Katey Rich

I've always had a weird affection for Night at the Museum, even though I never saw it and feel no real need to. I guess I love that it's an entirely original idea that made it big at the box office, and it taps into a universal childhood fantasy of getting locked into some awesome place for a night and seeing what really happens.

So I guess I'm glad that a critical and blockbuster success will be getting a sequel, though a little disappointed that such a fresh idea, like everything else in this world, is turning into a franchise. Night at the Museum 2: Escape from the Smithsonian pretty much sums up everything in its title (possibly the Snakes on a Plane of 2009), and already has director Shawn Levy and star Ben Stiller set to return. Ricky Gervais is also hoping to reprise his role, but in the meantime Reese Witherspoon has been approached to play, of all people, Amelia Earhart.

What now? Hilary Swank is already planning a biopic of the aviator, and that casting sounds great, but how in this world Reese Witherspoon and Amelia Earhart are anything alike is beyond me. Of course, I don't think anyone instantly shouted "Robin Williams!" when thinking of someone to play Teddy Roosevelt.

The switch in locations obviously provides plenty of new fodder, and with so many Smithsonians to cover in so little time, the movie probably won't lack for action. In a neat switcheroo, Fox has given Night at the Museum 2 a May 22, 2009 release date, which used to be occupied by James Cameron's Avatar. The latter project has been pushed back to allow for extra CGI work-- I mean, the whole damn thing is CGI--and will open on December 18, which not-so-coincidentally is the same day Titanic opened in 1997. It's bizarre that December is suddenly becoming a second summer, with big-budget action movies opening against sensitive Oscar fare, but I guess it's never too cold to watch aliens blow each other up. And, conversely, never too warm to see Ben Stiller get chased around by historical figures.