'MacGruber' Series Adds Sam Elliott, Laurence Fishburne, Mickey Rourke To Cast

The gang's all here for the MacGruber TV series at Peacock. The NBCUniversal streamer has added three impressive new cast members to the sequel series to the cult action-comedy film, with Sam Elliott, Laurence Fishburne, and Mickey Rourke joining the cast headed by Will Forte.

Variety reports that Rourke has been cast as the villain of the eight-episode MacGruber series at Peacock. The Oscar-nominated The Wrestler actor will be playing Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth, "a mysterious villain from MacGruber's past."

Also joining Rourke are Sam Elliot as Perry, MacGruber's father, and Fishburne as General Barrett Fasoose, "a highly decorated soldier who commands the respect of the entire US military."

Elliott's character, Perry, has "drifted apart over the years," but "MacGruber will need his father's sage guidance if he hopes to succeed." Meanwhile, Fishburne's General Barrett Fasoose is currently married to MacGruber's ex-wife, Vicki St. Elmo.

The three of them join the already-cast Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe, who reprise their roles from the 2010 action-comedy film. But they might be the biggest get for Peacock, as all three of them are Oscar-nominated actors who have starred in their fair share of classics — Rourke in films like Diner, 9 1/2 Weeks, and Rumble Fish; Elliott in films like A Star is Born, The Big Lebowski, and Tombstone; and Fishburne in the Matrix and John Wick films. Fishburne will be wrapping up his run on the TV series Black-ish soon, with the ABC sitcom ending with its upcoming eighth season, freeing him up for MacGruber.

The series picks up from the events of the Taccone-directed 2010 movie, which bombed theatrically but quickly developed a cult following. It will feature the return of film cast members Forte, Kristen Wiig, and Ryan Phillippe.

Here is the synopsis for the series:

In "MacGruber," after rotting in prison for over a decade, America's ultimate hero and uber patriot MacGruber (played by Forte) is finally released. His mission: to take down a mysterious villain from his past—Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth (Rourke). With the entire world in the crosshairs, MacGruber, Vicki (Wiig), and Piper (Phillippe) must race against time to defeat the forces of evil, only to find that evil may be lurking within.

In addition to reprising his role as MacGruber, Will Forte will also be writing the series and executive producing with John Solomon and Jorma Taccone. Lorne Michaels, John Goldwyn, Andrew Singer and Erin David also serve as executive producers.