Live-Action POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN in Early Development
By Movieguide® Contributor
A live-action POPEYE THE SAILOR MAN movie is in the early stages of development.
This marks the character’s first return to the big screen since the 1980 Robin Williams-led movie about the iconic sailor.
The remake comes from Chernin Entertainment and King Features.
Per Variety, “The project is currently in development as a big-budget feature, and has attached screenwriter Michael Caleo ( SEXY BEAST, THE FAMILY, THE SOPRANOS).”
Williams’ POPEYE was “Directed by Robert Altman and co-starr[ed] Shelley Duvall as the sailor’s quirky love interest Olive Oyl…the film was panned upon release but has since gained cult status and critical reconsideration. It was also profitable, released by Paramount Pictures at a $20 million budget before grossing roughly $60 million worldwide,” Variety added.
It followed “The adventures of the famous sailor man and his friends in the seaside town of Sweethaven.”
However, Popeye has long been an iconic figure. He first debuted in a 1929 comic strip that originally centered around Olive Oyl and her family.
He’s a small “one-eyed sailor with a cleft chin and a pipe in their mouth. While the character has a muscular physique, his forearms grow significantly every time he consumes a can of spinach,” IGN reported.
Now celebrating its 95th anniversary, “The character spawned both animated features and series in his heyday, and could be one of the earliest templates for mass merchandising across multiple generations,” Variety noted. Popeye has appeared in other comic books, video games, and animated cartoons.
Fans are eager to seek the sailor’s return to the big screen. Last year, some fans released “unofficial trailers, imagining Dwayne Johnson as their Popeye the Sailor in December 2023.”
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