Even if you apes don't want to live forever, any and all "Starship Troopers" fans have to agree that Johnny Rico is an icon that will never, ever die — even if his likeness changes a bit in the coming years.
MTV News caught up with "Troopers" veteran Casper Van Dien at the Sundance Film Festival to chat about his new movie, "The Pact." But of course, we can't possibly have a conversation with the head honcho of Rico's Roughnecks and not talk about his endless battle against the bugs. (In case you're curious, the only good bug is still a dead bug.)
Last we heard, a "Starship Troopers" reboot was in the works, and one has to wonder whether there's a place for Van Dien in the new vision. Will there be a new Rico? Will Rico even exist in the new film? No matter how it shakes out, Van Dien insists he's just thrilled to see the legacy of "Troopers" live on.
"I think [the reboot is] fantastic. I support them," he said. "If they want me in it, I'd be thrilled. If they want to go another way, I'd still be thrilled."
Perhaps part of the reason that Van Dien is so optimistic about the "Starship" future is that he's still very much involved in the franchise, even if he's not necessarily the face of it.
"I'm executive producing the anime of 'Starship Troopers,' and that was a lot of fun to do," he said. "Just to see that, seeing the Johnny Rico character and how they've developed him… I really enjoyed seeing that process. When they asked me to be an executive producer on that, I said yes, absolutely."
To this day, Van Dien said he can't go down the street without somebody shouting "Rico's Roughnecks!" Which, in all honesty, is pretty amazing. And we're not the only ones who think so.
"I love it," said Van Dien. "I'll always be a part of that."
The 2012 Sundance Film Festival is officially under way, and the MTV Movies team is on the ground reporting on the hottest stars and the movies everyone will be talking about in the year to come. Keep it locked with MTV Movies for everything there is to know about Sundance.
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