Last month, Netflix released an ’80s-style video introduction to Camp Firewood, the setting for the upcoming Wet Hot American Summer prequel series, Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp. Now that the introductions are out of the way, the first full trailer for the series has arrived online — and it’s a doozy.
The new trailer for First Day of Camp features a nice overview of the returning cast and newcomers to Camp Firewood, and even provides an overt reminder that in this prequel to the 2001 film, all of the returning cast members are not only 14 years older than the first go around, they’re also playing younger versions of their characters from the previous film.
“Some of you were campers last year, but now you’re 16 or 17 years old,” deadpans H. Jon Benjamin’s character early in the trailer, with a not-too-subtle slice of sarcasm. The running joke from the original film about age is even more ripe now, as a few of our stars have, er, filled out a bit since the early 2000s. However, not surprisingly, considering that many of the actors have gone on to do big things, the first few scenes reveal that their comedic timing is as sharp as ever.
Directed once again by David Wain and written by original Wet Hot American Summer co-writers Wain and Michael Showalter, First Day of Camp unfolds over the first day of the summer season in 1981 at Camp Firewood in Waterville, Maine. Despite an underwhelming performance at the box office, the 2001 film went on to become a cult classic of sorts, earning praise for its wild parody of raunchy, ’80s summer-camp comedies.
Original Wet Hot American Summer movie cast members include (deep breath): Elizabeth Banks, H. Jon Benjamin, Michael Ian Black, Bradley Cooper, Janeane Garofalo, Nina Hellman, David Hyde Pierce, Joe Lo Truglio, Ken Marino, AD Miles, Christopher Meloni, Marguerite Moreau, Zak Orth, Amy Poehler, Paul Rudd, Marisa Ryan, Molly Shannon, and Michael Showalter. All of the actors will reprise their roles as counselors and campers.
They’re also joined by a long list of familiar faces in cameos and featured roles, including Jon Hamm, Kristen Wiig, John Slattery, Chris Pine, Jordan Peele, Michael Cera, Judah Friedlander, “Weird Al” Yankovic, and Lake Bell.
All eight episodes of Wet Hot American Summer: First Day Of Camp will be available on Netflix at 12:01am PT on July 31.
