Empire chimes in today with what I think is a rather cool idea: A sequel to Bruce Almighty!

Granted, we’re pretty full up on sequels at this point, but I had a lot of fun with the first Bruce. What makes a sequel to it so intriguing is the direction they’re taking it. First off, forget about Jim Carrey. He’s out. Instead, the lead is going to Steve Carell, who stole the show in the first film with a cameo as tortured anchorman Evan Baxter. The sequel, will focus on Evan, who is called upon by God (Morgan Freeman reprising his role) to build an Ark in preparation for Global Flood Part 2.

If they’d brought back Jim Carrey to repeat the same shlock from the first film, or if they’d had Steve Carell stuck in exactly the same situation Jim was in the first movie, I’d be out on this one. Instead though, they really seem to be trying to build on the original premise to come up with something new… and potentially even funnier.

The sequel will be called, appropriately, Evan Almighty. Steve Odekirk is already on his way out of the Ode-Cave (or wherever he sits churning out crap like Kung Pow) to take up script writing duties again.

Production starts early next year. If things pan out as promised, this is an unneeded sequel that might be worth giving a chance.