Does 'The House' Share the Same Universe as 'Neighbors'? Jason Mantzoukas Connects the Comedies

We noticed something interesting while perusing the IMDb credits one Jason Mantzoukas, the prolific funnyman best known for his role as Rafi, the “homeless, ethnic Santa Claus” of the TV favorite The League, as well as countless movie and TV roles. The inane emergency room M.D. he played in the 2014 comedy hit Neighbors was “Doctor Theodorakis.” And the pop-up casino tycoon he plays in the upcoming Will Ferrell-Amy Poehler comedy The House is “Frank Theodorakis.”

It can’t be a coincidence, and at first we just assumed it was a little in-joke the Greek-American actor conspired on with the The House‘s filmmakers. But Mantzoukas took it a step further when he came into Yahoo Studios for a Facebook Live interview (watch in full above).

“Is this a shared universe? Is this the extended Neighbors universe? It’s a legit question,” Mantzoukas teased before taking it a step further. “Are there now twin brothers, one of whom is Frank, the suburban guy in this movie, and one of whom is an emergency room doctor in the Neighbors world? Unclear.”

Jason Mantzoukas in ‘The House’ (WB) / Jason Mantzoukas in ‘Neighbors’ (Universal)
Jason Mantzoukas in ‘The House’ (WB) / Jason Mantzoukas in ‘Neighbors’ (Universal)

The House was written by Andrew Jay Cohen (who also directed) and Brendan O’Brien, the same pair of scribes who penned Neighbors.

It all raises the question, what other connections do these two movies share? Or are they yet to fully collide? After the miserable experiences Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne endured living next to a fraternity in Neighbors and sorority in Neighbors 2, is a casino next in Neighbors 3: The House?

The House hits theaters June 30. Watch Jason Mantzoukas give us a tour of Frank’s Place Casino:


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