Jason Bateman says Matt Damon pitched himself for ‘Arrested Development’ movie

Matt Damon wants in on the Bluth family business.

Arrested Development star Jason Bateman recently revealed that the Oscar-nominated actor once pitched himself to play Bateman’s own character, Michael Bluth, in a movie version of the beloved Fox sitcom. Bateman shared the anecdote during an appearance on Conan O’Brien‘s Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend podcast, recalling how he and Damon had bumped into each other at the Golden Globes.

“I was so excited to meet him,” Bateman said. “He was a huge fan of Arrested Development, and he was saying, ‘You know, I really think I could play, because I hear you guys are doing the movie, I think I could — can I play you?'”

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Bateman led the Arrested Development cast as level-headed son Michael Bluth, who is forced to take over the family business in Orange County, Calif., after his father (played by Jeffrey Tambor) is sent to prison for a white-collar crime. The job is complicated by the rest of his eccentric and dysfunctional family, but he does his best while trying to be a good role model for his own teenage son (Michael Cera).

The show ran for three seasons on Fox between 2003 and 2006 and was revived by Netflix in 2013 for two more seasons. Series creator Mitchell Hurwitz has expressed interest in an Arrested Development movie, but so far there has not been movement on one. Responding to O’Brien’s question about why such a project would require a new cast of Bluths, Bateman clarified that the big-screen version would have included a movie-within-a-movie storyline.

“Mitch was thinking that the story of the Arrested Development movie would be that in the show, Hollywood wanted to make a movie about us, and so we certainly couldn’t play ourselves because we’re not actors,” Bateman said. “So Michael Bluth would be on set watching Matt Damon play Michael Bluth and be so excited. Of course, David Cross would play Tobias in the film as well, because he was an actor” in the world of the show.

Arrested Development also starred Portia de Rossi, Jessica Walter, Will Arnett, Tony Hale, and Alia Shawkat. As for whether the movie could still happen, Bateman dismissed the possibility. “I don’t think anybody gives a s—,” said Bateman. “I think it’s done.”

Watch Bateman discuss Damon’s pitch above.