STX Entertainment has announced that they will bring Brian Henson’s long-gestating, R-rated puppet noir The Happytime Murders to US cinemas on August 17th. Which is something of a surprise, as the last we heard, production was only just beginning.
Melissa McCarthy will both star in and produce the film, which has been in on/off development for some five years. McCarthy – who also provided the latest script revisions – said back in May, that, “When a really good script combines puppet strippers, Los Angeles’ underbelly and comedy, it’s like my fever dream has finally come true,”
Los Angeles’ seedier streets provide the setting for the dark comedy, which paints a world in which puppets and humans coexist. As the former cast of beloved puppet show The Happytime Gang begin meeting brutal ends, two detectives – one human, one puppet – are assigned to find the killer. But first they have to learn to work together. Jamie Foxx is strongly rumoured to be playing the human half of the duo, although weirdly, with the release now so close, this still seems to remain unconfirmed.
The Happytime Murders was developed under The Jim Henson Company’s Henson Alternative banner, with On The Day Productions and STX Films. Director Brian Henson will also produce, alongside McCarthy, Jeffrey Hayes, and Ben Falcone.
Words: Kevan Farrow (@KevanX)
