The Hollywood Reporter has a profile on Ricky Gervais out today, and in it, they mention that he’s hoping to star in a movie as David Brent, his character from The Office. Earlier this year, Gervais revived the character for a short that aired on BBC’s Comic Relief and for a web series, Learn Guitar with David Brent. THR writes that “Gervais hopes [these videos] will be the basis for a movie about Brent trying to make it in the music industry.†Additionally, they say he’s currently rehearsing with a band to do some “high-profile charity gigs†as Brent at the end of the year and that he’s planning to sign a record deal as Brent, something that he hinted at last month.
While the web videos haven’t really done much to tarnish the legacy of The Office, I worry that a full-on David Brent film might. The series wrapped up so well that it’s dangerous to tamper with the character now, especially with this news of a record deal and a movie on the horizon. Of course, the movie is only something Gervais wants to do, and as far as we know, there’s no deal for it or a script. Gervais is busy with the second season of his new show Derek, a new standup tour, an upcoming movie he’ll write, direct, and star in, and the Brent record, so hopefully all that stuff keeps him so busy that he forgets about this whole “David Brent movie†thing.