As reported by Deadline, a movie about Jim Henson is in development by Disney and The Jim Henson Company, to be written by Michael Mitnick (who wrote The Giver, The Current War, and the TV show Vinyl). The movie will be called Muppet Man.
Like a number of recent movies about real-life figures (Saving Mr. Banks about Walt Disney’s efforts to get Mary Poppins made; Stan & Ollie about the later years of Laurel & Hardy), it sounds like Muppet Man will focus on a specific chapter in Jim’s life, specifically his “journey to convince broadcasters that The Muppets was a great idea and how he worked to get the characters on air where they became a comedy staple.” Presumably this refers to Jim’s struggle to get The Muppet Show on the air.
This isn’t the first time somebody has thought about making a Jim Henson movie. As Deadline reminds us, the Henson Company bought a script with the same title by writer Christopher Weekes way back in 2009.
Personally, I’m not convinced we need a Jim Henson movie, but nobody asked me. At least Disney’s involvement means they’ll be able to show all the Muppet Show characters. Can you imagine an unauthorized biopic where all the Muppets are replaced with paper bag puppets?
Anyway, prepare yourself for a million social media posts demanding Ryan Gosling as Jim Henson and David Cross as Frank Oz!
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by Ryan Roe – Ryan@ToughPigs.com
