The Sandlot (franchise)

Last updated
The Sandlot
The Sandlot - official franchise logo.png
Official franchise logo, as released in 1993.
Based onOriginal characters created by
David Mickey Evans
Robert Gunter
Distributed by
Release date
1993–present
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$70,483,924
(2 films)

The Sandlot franchise [1] [2] consists of American coming-of-age sport-comedy installments including one theatrical film, and two straight-to-home video sequel films. The plot centers around preadolescent baseball fans, and their comedic adventures growing up as neighborhood friends. The first film was met with mixed-to-positive critical reception, while it was a financial success. Spawning a franchise, it has since been revered as a cult classic movie. [3] [4] [5]

Contents

The franchise is set to continue with a prequel film, planned for a theatrical release. A legacy sequel series for Disney+ was in development but was later canceled in 2023. [6]

Films

FilmU.S. release dateDirected byScreenplay byProduced by
The Sandlot April 7, 1993 David Mickey Evans David Mickey Evans & William S. GilmoreDale De La Torre and William S. Gilmore
The Sandlot 2 May 3, 2005David Mickey EvansDavid Bixler
The Sandlot: Heading Home May 1, 2007 William Dear Keith Mitchell & Allie DvorinJon Kuyper
Untitled prequel TBATBADavid Mickey Evans & Austin ReynoldsColin Greten and Daria Cercek

The Sandlot (1993)

In 1962 America, Scott "Scotty" Smalls moves to a new neighborhood with his mother and stepfather. Scotty struggles to make new friends. Eventually he follows a group of local boys to the small baseball diamond that they affectionately call "The Sandlot", and watches them play an improvised ballgame. As the majority of the gang at first picks on him, the star player of the team named Benjamin "Benny" Franklin Rodgriguez invites him to join them. All together they quickly learn that his sports skills are severely lacking. Together, they have pre-teen coming of age experiences and share comical incidents.

One day when the team wants to play baseball, but do not have all of the necessary equipment, Scotty volunteers his stepdad's collector's item prized ball. When Scotty immediately hits a home run into the fenced-in yard of Mr. Mertle next door, Scotty goes to retrieve it before his friends panickingly stop him from doing so. Together they tell him he will never get it back, explaining the legend of "The Beast" that lives there. Hopeless and helpless, Scotty exclaims that it was signed by George "Babe" Ruth Jr., the group of friends devise a plan to get the legendary ball back before Scotty's stepdad notices it is missing. [7] [8]

The Sandlot 2 (2005)

In 1972 America, a new gang of young baseball-fanatics spend their free time at the Sandlot. One day they decide to try something different by launching an authentic NASA model rocket that belongs to one of their parents. When the object accidentally lands in the neighboring cluttered yard belonging to Mr. Mertle, the group of friends must conquer their fears and return the rocket before it's realized to be missing. Together they seek to outsmart the local folklore of the neighbor's dangerous pet that they call "The Great Fear". [9] [10]

The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007)

Tommy "Santa" Santorelli is a Major League Baseball star for the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose hot streak and impressive stats have caused an increase in his egotistical nature. During a game, Tommy steps up to the plate intending to hit another home run. Instead, a speeding fastball beams him in the head, knocking him out. Waking up, Tommy finds that his conscious-self has inexplicably been transported back in time to 1976 in his preadolescent age, when he first discovered his love for baseball with his friends and coaches (Benny and Squints) at The Sandlot. Re-living his early memories of the sport, causes a change within him and reminds him of why he loves the game. [11]

Future

In 2018, a prequel film was revealed to be in development. David Mickey Evans serves as co-writer with Austin Reynolds. The plot takes place in the 1950s. Colin Greten and Daria Cercek will serve as producers for the project. [12] [13]

Television

In April 2019, a sequel television series was announced to be in development as a Disney+ exclusive streaming show. David Mickey Evans was set to serve as creator, screenwriter, executive producer, and showrunner for the series. Each of the original cast members was confirmed to reprise their roles from the first film. The series was going to take place during the 1980s with each of the original characters, now in their 30's, coaching their collective children. [14] [15] In November 2023, the series was cancelled due to the lengthy SAG-AFTRA strike. [16]

Main cast and characters

List indicators

This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in more than two films in the series.

CharacterFilmTelevision
The Sandlot The Sandlot 2 The Sandlot:
Heading Home
Untitled
prequel
Untitled
sequel series
Principal cast
Scott "Scotty" Smalls Tom Guiry
David Mickey Evans O V
Arliss Howard O
 Tom Guiry
Benjamin "Benny the Jet" Rodriguez Mike Vitar
Pablo Vitar O
  Danny Nucci  Mike Vitar
Hamilton "Ham" Porter Patrick Renna  Patrick Renna
Michael "Squints" Palledorous Chauncey Leopardi  Chauncey Leopardi Chauncey Leopardi
Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennanMarty York Marty York
Kenny DeNunez Brandon Quintin Adams  Brandon Quintin Adams
Bertram Grover WeeksGrant Gelt Grant Gelt
Timothy "Timmy" TimmonsVictor di Mattia Victor di Mattia
Tommy "Repeat" TimmonsShane Obedzinski Shane Obedzinski
Mr. Mertle James Earl Jones  
John "Johnnie" Smalls James Willson
David Mickey Evans O V
 
David "Rocket" Durango Max Lloyd-Jones 
Hayley Goodfairer Samantha Burton 
Mac McKing  Brett Kelly  
Saul Samuelson Cole Evan Weiss 
Tarquell Neilen Benvegnu 
Sammy "Fingers" Samuelson  Sean Berdy  
Singleton  Reece Thompson  
Tommy "Santa" Santorelli Keanu Pires
Luke Perry O
 
Quincy "Q" Washington Meschach Peters
Chris Shields O
 
Ryan  Cainan Wiebe
Dean Hinchley O
 
Two-Ton Brandon Olds 
Timber Kai James 
Wings McKay Ryan Drescher 
D.P.  Cole Heppell  
Rolando "Roll" Alvarez Renzo Carbonel 
Matt "Wok" Wakamoto Samuel Patrick 
Supporting cast
Mrs. Smalls Karen Allen  
Bill Denis Leary  
Wendy Peffercorn Marley Shelton  
George "Babe" Ruth, Jr. Art LaFleur  
Mr. Goodfairer  Greg Germann  
Mrs. Goodfairer  Teryl Rothery  
Judy Santorelli Lelia Johnson 
Sara Santorelli Sarah Deakins 
Earl "E.J." Needman, Jr.  Alexander Ludwig  
Earl Needman Paul Jarrett 

Additional crew and production details

FilmCrew/Detail
ComposerCinematographerEditorProduction companiesDistributing companyRunning time
The Sandlot David Newman Anthony B. Richmond Michael A. Stevenson 20th Century Fox,
Island World
Twentieth Century Fox1hr 41mins
The Sandlot 2 Laura Karpman David Pelletier Harry Keramidas 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC,
David Evans Pictures
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 1hr 37mins
The Sandlot: Heading Home Kendall MarshPascal ProvostChris Conlee20th Century Fox Home Entertainment1hr 36mins
Untitled prequel film TBATBATBA 20th Century Fox,
20th Century Studios,
Walt Disney Studios
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures TBA
Untitled TV series sequel TBATBATBA 20th Century Fox Television,
20th Century Television,
Walt Disney Television
Disney+ TBA

Reception

Box office and financial performance

FilmBox office grossBox office rankingVideo
sales gross
Worldwide
sales total
BudgetWorldwide
net income
Ref.
North AmericaOther territoriesWorldwideAll time
North America
All time
worldwide
North America
The Sandlot $32,434,0006$1,398,307$33,832,313#2,638#3,744$34,237,307$68,069,620$7,000,000$61,069,620 [17] [18] [19]
The Sandlot 2 Information not available [20]
The Sandlot: Heading Home $2,414,304$2,414,304Information not available<$2,414,304 [21]
Untitled prequel [ to be determined ][ to be determined ][ to be determined ][ to be determined ][ to be determined ][ to be determined ][ to be determined ]TBA[ to be determined ]
Totals$32,434,006$1,398,307$33,832,313x̅ #660x̅ #936$36,651,611$70,483,924>$7,000,000≤$63,483,924

Critical and public response

Film Rotten Tomatoes Metacritic CinemaScore
The Sandlot63% (56 reviews) [22] 55/100 (27 reviews) [23] B+ [24]
The Sandlot 240% (5 reviews) [25]
The Sandlot: Heading Home— (3 reviews) [26]

Notes

    References

    1. Goldberg, Matt (July 31, 2018). "'The Sandlot' Prequel in Development with Original Writer-Director David Mickey Evans". Collider. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    2. Whitten, Sarah (November 10, 2019). "These 4 franchises are getting new life on Disney+". CNBC. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    3. Welk, Brian (April 7, 2018). "'The Sandlot' at 25: Why the '90s Cult Classic Will Live 'For-Ev-Ver'". The Wrap. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    4. Bitette, Nicole (April 6, 2018). "'The Sandlot' was almost a very different movie". New York Daily News. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    5. Ascencio, Bianca (January 29, 2021). "'The Sandlot' hits a home-run of nostalgia during troubling times". The Channels. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    6. https://tvline.com/lists/fire-country-season-2-spinoff-spoilers/saturdays-cancelled-season-2-disney-channel/
    7. Maslin, Janet (April 7, 1993). "Review/Film; A 1960's Coming-of-Age Baseball Story". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    8. Cannon, Bob (April 23, 1993). "The Sandlot: EW review". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    9. Lukens, Dave (May 3, 2005). "The Sandlot 2". Dove.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    10. Barnes & Noble (May 3, 2015). "The Sandlot 2". Barnes & Noble. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    11. Carpenter, Edwin L. (May 1, 2007). "Sandlot, The: Heading Home". Dove.org. Retrieved March 9, 2021.
    12. N'Duka, Amanda (July 31, 2018). "'The Sandlot' Prequel In The Works At Fox With Original Writer-Helmer David Mickey Evans Scripting". Deadline. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
    13. Vlessing, Etan (July 31, 2018). "'The Sandlot' Prequel in the Works at 20th Century Fox". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
    14. D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 11, 2019). "'The Sandlot' Series In Early Development At Disney+". Deadline. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
    15. Goldberg, Lesley (April 11, 2019). "'The Sandlot' TV Series Coming to Disney+". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 17, 2021.
    16. https://tvline.com/lists/fire-country-season-2-spinoff-spoilers/saturdays-cancelled-season-2-disney-channel/
    17. "The Sandlot". Box Office Mojo.
    18. "The Sandlot (1993) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
    19. "The Sandlot (1993)". screenrant.com.
    20. "The Sandlot 2 (2005) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
    21. "Sandlot 3: Heading Home, The (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
    22. "The Sandlot (1993)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2021-03-03.
    23. "The Sandlot". Metacritic .
    24. "Home". Cinemascore.
    25. "The Sandlot 2 (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes .
    26. "The Sandlot: Heading Home (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved 2022-01-01.