MTV Revives ‘Celebrity Deathmatch’ With Ice Cube Set to Star

Photo: MTV

There’s good news for people who enjoy watching clay celebrities mercilessly pummel each other: MTV Studios just announced the return of “Celebrity Deathmatch.”

Stern Show veteran Ice Cube will both star in and executive produce the revival of the stop-motion animated comedy series along with executive producer Eric Fogel, who created and launched the original back in 1998. “Celebrity Deathmatch” is expected to return to life in 2019 as a weekly streaming or network series, according to reports, and the franchise might eventually expand to include games, movies, and other consumer products.

The original “Celebrity Deathmatch” depicted brutally funny deathmatches between clay versions of real-life celebrities and ran for 75 episodes before coming to an end in the early 2000s. It parodied dozens of celebrities during its run, including Marilyn Manson, Jerry Seinfeld, Pamela Anderson, Tiger Woods, Hillary Clinton, and even Ice Cube himself.

Howard’s likeness has of course appeared on the series, too, as has that of Stern Show executive producer Gary Dell’Abate. More recently, Fogel sculpted clay replicas of the Stern Show’s Wack Pack, including Eric the Actor, Beetlejuice, Tan Mom, Bigfoot, Wendy the Slow Adult, Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, and High Pitch Erik. Check out pictures of his work here.

For MTV, meanwhile, this is just the latest of recent efforts to revive several of its fan-favorite properties. Other shows headed back into production reportedly include “Daria,” “The Real World,” “Made,” “Undressed,” and “Aeon Flux.”