# The Mask (franchise)

The Mask is an American media franchise based on the comic book series of the same name by Dark Horse Comics. It revolves around a mask that gives various individuals cartoonish and god-like superpowers. The individuals are ultimately faced with the challenge of overcoming the obstacles and conflicts they create while wearing it.
The first film, The Mask, was released in 1994 after six years of development, with a stand-alone sequel, Son of the Mask, released in 2005. An animated series was also produced and ran for three seasons. The first film was widely successful, while the second film was critically panned and a box-office failure.

## Background

In 1989, Mike Richardson and Todd Moyer, respectively the founder and Executive Vice President of Dark Horse Comics, first approached New Line Cinema about adapting the comic series The Mask into a film, after having seen other offers. The main character went through several transformations, and the project was stalled a couple of times.
With New Line Cinema initially intending for The Mask to start a new horror franchise, the company offered the job of directing the film to Charles Russell, known for directing such films. However, Russell found the violence of the comic to be off-putting, and wanted the film to be less grim and more fun than the source material.

## Films

| Film | U.S. release date | Director(s) | Screenwriter(s) | Story by | Producer(s) |
| The Mask | July 29, 1994 | Chuck Russell | Mike Werb | Michael Fallon and Mark Verheiden | Bob Engelman |
| Son of the Mask | February 18, 2005 | Lawrence Guterman | Lance Khazei | — | Erica Huggins and Scott Kroopf |

### The Mask (1994)

Unfortunate bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss (Jim Carrey) finds a magical mask that transforms him into a mischievous, good-hearted gangster with cartoon-like superpowers.

### Son of the Mask (2005)

After Loki (Alan Cumming) is dispatched to Earth to retrieve the Mask, cartoonist Tim Avery (Jamie Kennedy) inadvertently uses it to conceive a child, who inherits its powers.

### Possible third film

On the possibility of a direct sequel to the 1994 film with Carrey reprising the role of Stanley Ipkiss and Diaz as Tina Carlyle, Mike Richardson said in a 2014 interview: "We've been talking about reviving The Mask, both in film and in comics. We've had a couple of false starts". In December 2024, Carrey revealed that he was still interested in portraying the Mask in a sequel as long as the idea is good.

## Television

| Series | Season | Episodes | First released | Last released | Showrunner(s) | Network(s) |
| The Mask: Animated Series | 3 | 54 | August 12, 1995 | August 30, 1997 | Duane Capizzi | CBS |

### The Mask: Animated Series (1995–1997)

Stanley Ipkiss (voiced by Rob Paulsen) continues to use the magical mask to fight crime and the supervillains as the mischievous, cartoonish, good-hearted superhero known as the "Mask", while having fun and partying at the same time. In this continuity, Stanley still has the mask. He either pretended to throw it away, or Milo retrieved it from the river. As well, in this series, Stanley can use the mask during both day and night, whereas in the film, it only worked at night.

## Cast and characters

   * A $^V$ indicates the actor or actress lent only his or her voice for his or her film character.
| Character | Films | Films | Animated series | Animated series | Animated series |
| Character | The Mask | Son of the Mask | The Mask: Animated Series | The Mask: Animated Series | The Mask: Animated Series |
| Character | The Mask | Son of the Mask | Season 1 | Season 2 | Season 3 |
| Stanley Ipkiss The Mask | Jim Carrey | | Rob Paulsen | Rob Paulsen | Rob Paulsen |
| Dr. Arthur Neuman | Ben Stein | Ben Stein | Ben Stein | Ben Stein | |
| Milo | Max | | Frank Welker | Frank Welker | Frank Welker |
| Lt. Mitch Kellaway | Peter Riegert | | Neil Ross | Neil Ross | Neil Ross |
| Detective Doyle | Jim Doughan | | Jim Cummings | Jim Cummings | Jim Cummings |
| Charlie Schumaker | Richard Jeni | | Mark L. Taylor | Mark L. Taylor | Mark L. Taylor |
| Peggy Brandt | Amy Yasbeck | | Heidi Shannon | Heidi Shannon | Heidi Shannon |
| Mayor Mitchell "Mortimer" Tilton | Ivory Ocean | | Kevin Michael Richardson | Kevin Michael Richardson | Kevin Michael Richardson |
| Dorian Tyrell The Mask | Peter Greene | | | | |
| Tina Carlyle | Cameron Diaz | | | | |
| Niko | Orestes Matacena | | | | |
| Loki God of Mischief | | Alan Cumming | | | |
| Tim Avery The Mask | | Jamie Kennedy | | | |
| Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | | Ryan and Liam Falconer | | | |
| Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | | Joyce Kurtz | | | |
| Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | | Mona Marshall | | | |
| Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | | Mary Matilyn Mouser | | | |
| Alvey Avery Son of the Mask | | Neil Ross | | | |
| Tonya Avery | | Traylor Howard | | | |
| Otis | | Bear | | | |
| Otis | | Bill Farmer | | | |
| Otis | | Richard Steven Horvitz | | | |
| Odin | | Bob Hoskins | | | |
| Daniel Moss | | Steven Wright | | | |
| Jorge | | Kal Penn | | | |
| Chad | | Ryan Johnson | | | |
| Betty | | Magda Szubanski | | | |
| Doctor Septimus Pretorius | | | Tim Curry | Tim Curry | Tim Curry |

## Additional crew and production details

| Film | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail | Crew/Detail |
| Film | Composer(s) | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time |
| The Mask | Randy Edelman | John R. Leonetti | Arthur Coburn | New Line Productions AFI Catalog of Feature Films Dark Horse Entertainment | New Line Cinema | 101 minutes |
| Son of the Mask | Randy Edelman | Greg Gardiner | Malcolm Campbell, John Coniglio and Debra Neil Fisher | Radar Pictures Dark Horse Entertainment | New Line Cinema (United States) Warner Bros. Pictures (Germany) | 94 minutes |

## Video game

A side-scrolling action game based on the first film was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995.