You know how, when franchises die out, studios always think it's a really good idea to bring them back with a focus on the main character's wacky kid (or, in the case of The Nutty Professor, grandkid)? And how it never works, and the movies are poorly reviewed and hated by audiences? Well the people at Morgan Creek surely know all this just as well as we do. The problem, however, is that they also know how much money Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls made (several truckloads), and they secretly hope that, even if when it turns out to be crap, people will still go see anything with the words "Ace" and "Ventura" in the title. And they're probably right, damn them. So, the studio is going ahead with Ace Ventura 3: Jeff Sank and Jason and Justin Heimberg (yes, it takes three people to write something this high-concept) have been hired to write the screenplay, which is "expected to center on the eccentric detective's son, who steps into his father's shoes to take over the family business." I hear your groans of dismay all the way over here.

It's not known yet who will direct the film, or if Morgan Creek will come up with enough millions to get Jim Carrey to show up for five minutes and do something stupid (I'm betting the answer to the latter will be yes).