One of the biggest stars of "Arrested Development" not included in the main cast will return for the new episodes on Netflix -- the stair car.
Series star Jason Bateman revealed the news in an interview with Vulture. But is it the original stair car? Maybe not. After "Arrested Development" was canceled, the sets were struck and items were sold. For the new batch of episodes, production had to recreate everything.
"I don’t know if that’s the old one," Bateman said. "I haven’t been in it yet. I’ve done scenes around it, but I haven’t sat in the seat yet."
The stair car joins returning stars and props including GOB's segway, Judy Greer as Kitty, Henry Winkler as Barry Zuckerkorn, Scott Baio as Bob Loblaw and Liza Minnelli as Lucille Austero. Will there be more? Maybe not until the movie. "... I know if and when the movie happens there’s been a lot of talk … there are people that have kind of reserved spots in that that would be very exciting," Bateman said.
Series executive producer Ron Howard is equally as tight-lipped. When The Huffington Post asked him about "Mad Men" star John Slattery's new character, Howard remained mum, but offered up this nugget: "I think it's great and that the writing is great. It's very bold. I'm very proud of Mitch [Mitchell Hurwitz]," Howard said. "You know it's not going off into some place that's going to alienate people who love those characters, but it's just going to further enrich their interest in these characters, and the way these characters make us all laugh. I think he's really done something great. The cast is so excited about it. And it's cool and fun to get back in that groove, it's also pushing the boundaries from a story standpoint, character standpoint, and a comedic standpoint in a way that really inspires them. So it doesn't feel like some opportunistic reunion, it feels like the next iteration of it all."
"Arrested Development" returns for a new season of episodes sometime in the spring of 2013.
