THE SANDLOT star Patrick Renna explained why he thinks “any remake” of the beloved 1993 baseball movie would be a “mistake.”
“I think any remake is a mistake, personally,” Renna, who played Hamilton “Ham” Porter in THE SANDLOT, told Parade. “How do you live up to something that’s meant so much to people?”
His comments came just days before his new comedy series, DUGOUT DADS, released.
“In DUGOUT DADS, when an idealistic dad (Renna) volunteers to coach his kids’ Little League team, he discovers that the most unruly players on the field aren’t the 10-year-olds…they’re the other coaches, parents and sometimes himself,” a synopsis reads, according to Deadline. “Throughout the season, Coach Patrick finds himself constantly at odds with his own advice to the kids: baseball is supposed to be FUN.”
DUGOUT DADS isn’t a SANDLOT remake, but he pulled on the cult classic’s nostalgia, including many of the original cast members: Chauncey Leopardi (Squints), Tom Guiry (Smalls), Brandon Quintin Adams (Kenny), Marty York (Yeah-Yeah), Grant Gelt (Bertram), Victor DiMattia (Timmy), Shane Obedzinski (Repeat) and Wil Horneff (Phillips).
Related: Patrick Renna Explains Why This SANDLOT Star Skipped DUGOUT DADS Reunion
“There’s no SANDLOT [intellectual property] in it. [But] we don’t hide from it,” Renna told Parade.
But ultimately, DUGOUT DADS is an original story with all-new characters.
“We make a few little jokes at it, a few little Easter eggs that I think people will enjoy. But I think they’ll just love seeing us on the baseball field. And the final episode has a real cool, nostalgic moment that I think people will love,” the actor added.
Renna’s own Little League coaching experience inspired the new project.
“After years of coaching Little League, I’ve witnessed some truly epic meltdowns on the field, and it’s always the adults (I’d be lying if I said it was never me). I just knew those experiences had to become a show. What makes it even more special is that it’s bringing me back together with the cast of THE SANDLOT, guys I’ve shared a unique bond and brotherhood with for more than 30 years. It feels like a story I was meant to tell, with exactly the right people to tell it with,” Renna told Deadline.
Though a SANDLOT remake probably will never happen, DUGOUT DADS is a fun way to catch up with its stars. The series dropped on Renna’s YouTube channel last night.
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