Bateman also said that Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill were eyed for roles in the project that never materialized. Jason Bateman reveals cast of unmade Arrested Dev

Bateman also said that Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill were eyed for roles in the project that never materialized.

Jason Bateman reveals cast of unmade Arrested Development movie-within-a-movie

Bateman also said that Will Ferrell and Jonah Hill were eyed for roles in the project that never materialized.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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September 22, 2025 11:29 a.m. ET

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Jason Bateman on 'Arrested Development'; Dr. Phil in 2024. Credit:

Saeed Adyani/Netflix; Jamie McCarthy/Getty

- Jason Bateman said that Dr. Phil was considered to play Jeffrey Tambor's character in an *Arrested Development* movie-within-a-movie.

- He also claimed that in the unmade *AD* film, Jonah Hill would have played Michael Cera's character.

- Bateman also said that Will Ferrell would have been part of the big-screen version of the Bluths' story.

Now the story of how a wealthy family who lost everything…could have looked very different if given the big-screen treatment.

Jason Bateman revealed new information about the unmade *Arrested Development* movie during an interview with *Hot Ones*, including the potential casting for the film-within-a-film that never was.

The *Ozark* star previously said that the proposed *AD* movie would have seen the dysfunctional sitcom family oversee the production of a Hollywood movie about their lives, with Matt Damon portraying Bateman's character, Michael.

Matt Damon pitched himself for 'Arrested Development' movie, Jason Bateman says

'Arrested Development' creator was 'nervous' to cast Jason Bateman, directors say

"I feel it was kind of close [to being made]," Bateman said on *Hot Ones* before revealing three bananas casting choices for the actors playing his on-screen family members in an in-universe biopic.

"The other casting... would have been Dr. Phil for George Sr., for Jeffrey Tambor," he said of Michael's father, the disgraced real estate mogul George Bluth.

Jeffrey Tambor on 'Arrested Development'; Dr. Phil at 'The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon' in 2024.

Saeed Adyani/Netflix; Todd Owyoung/NBC via Getty

The *Zootopia* star also said that his on-screen son, Michael Cera, would have seen his character George Michael Bluth played by a former costar.

"Jonah Hill was going to maybe do Michael Cera's part, because I think they were hanging out from *Superbad*," Bateman claimed.

Bateman went on to claim that his on-screen brother and *Smartless* podcast cohost, Will Arnett, discussed another famous Will playing the family's eldest son, Gob Bluth, in the movie-within-a-movie. "Will Ferrell, I think, was talking to Arnett about playing Gob," he recalled.

Will Arnett on 'Arrested Development'; Will Ferrell at the 'You're Cordially Invited' screening in New York City on Jan. 28, 2025.

Michael Yarish/Netflix; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty

The actor said that the development of the movie was "cruising" but never materialized. "It was going to be the movie inside the movie," he reiterated. "[The actors] were going to be on set and we [the Bluths] would show up on set and watch. Like, Michael Bluth's excited that Matt Damon's playing me, you know. I'd probably, like, give him too many notes. But I think that would have been fun, that would have been good."

*Arrested Development* originally ran on Fox for three seasons from 2003 to 2006. It was later revived by Netflix for two additional seasons that premiered in 2013 and 2018. The series also starred Portia de Rossi as the family's layabout daughter, Lindsay; David Cross as her aspiring actor husband, Tobias; Alia Shawkat as their teen daughter, Maeby; Jessica Walter as the family's elitist matriarch, Lucille; and Tony Hale as the dynasty's helpless youngest son, Buster.

Creator Mitch Hurwitz stated his intentions to helm an *Arrested Development* movie on multiple occasions, but Bateman believes that there's no hope for the film to move forward at this point.

"I don't think anybody gives a s---," Bateman said on *Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend* in February. "I think it's done."

Jason Bateman on 'Arrested Development'.

In that same interview, Bateman said that Damon was the one who proposed playing Michael in the unmade *AD *film. "He was a huge fan of *Arrested Development*, and he was saying, 'You know, I really think I could play, because I hear you guys are doing the movie, I think I could — can I play you?'" he remembered of his encounter with the *Good Will Hunting* star.

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Bateman also said that one member of the Bluth family wouldn't need a Hollywood hotshot to play him in the film. "Of course, David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well, because he was an actor."**

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