Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane just announced he’s rebooting the 1984 comedy Revenge of the Nerds, and he already has one young actor who is familiar with 1980s movies interested in one of the geeky roles.
Earlier yesterday (Dec. 17), Cobra Kai star Xolo Maridueña told Remezcla that playing a Latino nerd in the new film would be something he would definitely entertain.
“I’m already a Latino nerd, so it wouldn’t be hard to pull from,” Maridueña said. “I think diversity is a huge problem in this industry, so, yeah, I do feel like I could do that and hope other people could see that, too.”
Since there were no Latino nerds in the original movie, MacFarlane should cast Maridueña in the reboot. As karate champion Miguel Diaz in Cobra Kai, he already knows how to handle bullies, so a few mean jocks shouldn’t be a problem either. Or better yet, make all the nerds Latino. Here’s our dweeby dream lineup of Latinos that should be considered to be featured in ‘Revenge of the Nerds.’
Xolo Maridueña
The best remedy for bullying from a group of college jocks just might be an actor who has a few karate moves to use if things get dicey. Plus, Maridueña has already added his own contribution to a beloved 1980s movie like The Karate Kid, so why not just monopolize the entire decade? Revenge of the Nerds first, then Can’t Buy Me Love, please.
Marcel Ruiz
In One Day at a Time, Ruiz plays Alex Alvarez, a sweet kid, sure, but one that knows how to stand up for himself. In season 2, he punches a racist schoolmate for telling him to go back to Mexico.
Rico Rodriguez
In the TV series Modern Family, Rodriguez played Manny Delgado, an intelligent kid who is afraid of butterflies. His character plays football and chess, so the jocks wouldn’t know what hit them.
Jorge Lendeborg, Jr.
As Memo Gutierrez in the 2018 Transformers movie Bumblebee, Lendeborg, Jr. was very shy about talking to his neighbor and teen crush (Haliee Steinfeld). But he finally got over it and did the best he could to play the hero when the Decepticons started looking for trouble.
Lino Facioli
“Sweetrobin” from Game of Thrones would make a great Latino nerd, although if he’s still breastfeeding, that might be a problem at college. But he seems to mature through the eight season of the groundbreaking series.
Fabrizio Guido
Guido’s character Mikey Gutierrez in Netflix’s Mr. Iglesias isn’t exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he’s got heart and that goes a long way. That’s especially true when you find the courage to let your high school crush know you like them.
Moisés Arias
At 26, Arias is on the older side of the college-aged nerd, but we’ll let him slide because he can play young. Plus, did you see him in Nacho Libre, The Kings of Summer and TV’s Hannah Montana? Total nerd, and we love it.