Samwise Gamgee is moving on from the Shire to fight a deadly virus on a secluded island. After spending much of the 2000s in smaller roles, Sean Astin, who has starred as some of the most iconic characters of our generation like Mikey Walsh from ‘The Goonies’, Rudy Ruettiger, and Frodo’s lovable companion in the ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy, will be joining another Hollywood franchise. According to Variety (via /Film), Astin has been added to the cast of the first of two planned sequels to Eli Roth’s 2002 film, ‘Cabin Fever’.
Titled ‘Cabin Fever: Patient Zero’, the film starts shooting on August 13th in the Dominican Republic under the direction of Marvel comic book writer and artist Kaare Andrews from a script written by Jake Wade Hall. Like the original, which starred ‘Boy Meets World’ alum Rider Strong, the sequel will see its characters deal with a deadly virus, but this time it’s when “ a bachelor party cruise in the Caribbean unexpectedly running ashore on a medical research island.”
In addition to Astin, Brando Eaton (‘Dexter’) and Ben Hollingsworth (‘The Joneses’) are joining the cast as well. Not to take away from those two actors or the rest of the cast and crew, but Sean Astin is a household name, and he was one even before stepping into the hairy hobbit feet. While this movie seems like it could be generic horror fluff, I’m guessing that moviegoers will make the trek to the theater just for Mr. Astin despite the plot. I know that I probably will.