No new ‘Dumb and Dumber’ without Jim Carrey

Unless Jim Carrey changes his mind, Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema won’t go ahead with a third film in the “Dumb and Dumber” series.

The actor’s publicist on Tuesday told “Entertainment Tonight” that Carrey didn’t expect to go ahead with a new sequel to the 1994 hit, reportedly out of frustration with the pace of development on the project, which the actor suggested should be called “Dumb and Dumber To.”

A person close to the project but not authorized to speak publicly said the movie, to be written and directed by the duo behind the original, Bobby and Peter Farrelly, is still in active development at New Line. However, the Warner Bros. division does not want to go ahead with the movie unless Carrey will reprise his lead role.

New Line executives’ reluctance is likely fueled in part by the failure of the 2003 prequel “Dumb and Dumberer: When Harold Met Lloyd.” Carrey and costar Jeff Daniels were replaced by younger actors in that movie, which wasn’t written or directed by the Farrellys.

“Dumb and Dumberer” grossed only $26 million at the domestic box office, compared with $127 million for the original.

Famously fickle actors change their minds on projects all the time, of course, meaning a third “Dumb and Dumber” could still happen. And Carrey will have plenty of contact with New Line, which is releasing his next film, the comedy “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,” in 2013.

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